


Rekindle The Will of Fire

by ZiquilaLeo



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Dark Uzumaki Naruto, Developing Friendships, Gen, Hatake Kakashi Has Issues, Mental Instability, Other, Protective Uchiha Itachi, Psychological Trauma, Queerplatonic Relationships, Second Chances, Trust Issues, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Uzumaki Naruto Being an Idiot, Uzumaki Naruto Needs a Hug, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-01-14 11:52:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18475684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZiquilaLeo/pseuds/ZiquilaLeo
Summary: Five year old Naruto gets assaulted by memories of a future he doesn’t agree with from an older self that drowns him in a suffering he's unable to escape; and unfortunately for older Naruto, like his future alias as Konoha’s Unpredictable, Knuckle-Headed Ninja, he decides to be selfish for once and change the future for his sake instead of doing it for the sake of others.Read to find out which of the two he chooses in the end, because his mind is splintering, and he’s falling into the darkness eating him up from the inside. It’s a race against time before he explodes to find any semblance of peace for himself instead of the world his future self was destined to save.How much of the story do you think would change if the main character in the book changed?AUTHOR's NOTE: Currently under editing. Also. Sporadic updates.(This is not going to go the way you think it will. (Hopefully, because I like to surprise readers and make the story not as predictable like other fan works.))





	1. Chapter One ( - Unedited)

**Author's Note:**

> Plenty of time travel fanfics of Naruto (Shippuden) usually has teenage/adult Naruto (or any other character(s)) from a horrific future where the world was ending, or destroyed, transported to the past (or an alternate dimension) either in adult form, or shoved back into his/her Genin (or younger) self’s body. 
> 
> I wanted to write a different kind of (sorta) fix-it story.

In all his years of trying to prove himself and get the people of his village to acknowledge him by becoming the best of the best and surpassing the greats before him, Uzumaki Naruto has never once given thought to how his life as a shinobi would end. Not even how he would die. At least, not until he met up with Sasuke after the broody bastard killed Danzo; it was only then, and when the true leader of Akatsuki told him a tale, that he’d finally come to an understanding of his end. 

The story Obito (still under the guise as Tobi/Uchiha Madara at the time) spun finally had the pieces Naruto didn’t know where to fit when it came to Sasuke making sense and automatically clicking into place. Naruto knows he shouldn’t have believed the enemy right away, but something familiar about the story of Asura and Indra called out to his soul. Maybe it was Asura trying to warn the blonde of their ‘fates’, or maybe it was because deep down inside Naruto didn’t want to believe everything Sasuke had done was because the Uchiha made the choice to do it and could put the blame on Indra. 

Although, after fighting the Mother of Chakra, the Rabbit Goddess Kaguya, and facing death with ninety percent bravado and thirty percent desperation did Naruto come to the conclusion that he is not Asura and Sasuke is not Indra. But fate ( _and oh Kami does he sound a lot like Neji before the Hyuuga had some sense knocked into him_ ) must really be unavoidable; an annoying thing that just won’t leave him or his precious people alone it seems. 

A jinx. That’s what he’s telling himself, because Uzumaki Naruto could care less about fate – fate is just an excuse to ignore the outcome when it doesn’t benefit the person who takes the wrong end of the stick. (He ignores the hypocrisy of believing in jinxes. The two are completely _different_. He'll argue with anyone who thinks otherwise.) If he hadn’t told Sasuke that when they fight they will die together; and if Sasuke hadn’t spoken out his choices for Naruto to either kill him to save the village and become a hero or die a loser. Then they wouldn’t have jinxed themselves. 

A cold shudder rakes his body; glazed, blue eyes glued to the lifeless body of the one and only Uchiha Sasuke. 

_‘Either you kill me and become the Hero of the village, or I kill you and you remain the loser that you are.’_

_...Hero._

Naruto doesn’t feel like a hero, and even though he feels he’s lost a part of himself after killing Sasuke, he doesn’t feel like a loser either. He feels…hurt. 

If it was Naruto when Team Seven was still a team during his Genin days. What would his younger self have thought about his first kill and that it was one of his teammates? What would his Genin-self think of killing his rival/friend/brother, because he failed to save him, to bring him home, and protect one of his precious people? This wasn’t supposed to happen, but it did, and it hurts, and even if he prepared himself for this outcome, he had hoped it wouldn’t come to be. He’s dying, and he killed the one person he wanted to save the most. 

_The Valley of The End._

This fight was long overdue in Naruto’s opinion, but now he wished he had avoided it. Had he let Sasuke go to face him another day when they’ve both thought life through, then this wouldn’t have happened. Naruto doesn’t want to die, and he most certainly never wanted Sasuke’s death despite the heinous crimes he’s committed. But, then he thinks of Sandaime-Jiji and Danzo, and look how those two ended up. Then, there’s the first two who supposedly started this inevitable lifelong battle, Asura and Indra, and all their incarnations up to Hashirama and Madara. 

_Damnit! It wasn’t supposed to end like this! Not like this!_

The frustration sends fiery chills through his chest, stinging his nerves despite the numbness quickly enveloping him.

 _ **I don’t have any more chakra to heal you, Naruto.**_ Kurama’s somber voice rumbles deeply in the blonde’s mind, instinctively bringing the teen to his mindscape. 

Of course the Fox wouldn’t. Sasuke nearly absorbed all of the Bijuu’s chakra for himself during their inevitable fight. It’s unfortunate for Kurama that he had no choice but to be a part of their fight too. Another precious friend he forced into this dance of endless battles.

Naruto slumps against the great chakra beast, doing his best to relish in the warmth emitting from the Fox. The numbing coldness and darkness are spreading through him rapidly, easily creeping towards him as death drags him to wherever it takes souls. But, the heat from Kurama’s fur coat thankfully keeps him grounded. The Bijuu should be okay once the blonde dies, so Naruto isn't particularly worried he’ll drag Kurama with him.

The chakras of the other Bijuus appear in his mindscape for the final moments of the human their father and the Great Toad Sage prophesied about. He ignores the sting of failure. 

At least he’d go, knowing the Bijuu are free from the bastard's jutsu.

_Speaking of bastard…_

Naruto blinks the dampness in his eyes away to stare longingly and regretfully at Sasuke. 

If only he had a special stick to shove in the ass of Fate and any Kami (mainly Kaguya) for letting this happen.

Faint chakra signatures of the newly freed Bijuus finally arrive to surround his pitiful state in the physical plane; Kakashi most likely carrying Sakura who is still probably recovering from the bastard’s Genjutsu to their destination and holding him up. 

_**“It seems history will repeat,”**_ the Sage of Six Paths’ grave voice laced with regret echoes through the plane.

Naruto doesn’t – _can’t_ look away from his deepest shame to scowl at the supernatural entity. 

The Yang half of Kurama who has been set free from the large boulder kneels beside his former and other half’s current jailer. Naruto and the gathered chakra constructs know the blonde won’t live even if Yang Kurama were to be sealed inside of him; in fact, it’d probably just speed up the process of him dying. It’s sad, really. Not even the all mighty Sage of Six Paths has enough chakra to save, let alone heal the dying Uzumaki. 

“I wish…things were different…” Naruto whispers breathlessly, finally letting the tears go since he can’t feel the muscles in his face. He doesn’t have a chance to voice his other regrets in life because black spots begin to blot his vision while air escapes his grasps. 

" _ **Jiji. Seal me inside Naruto.**_ ” He faintly hears Kurama’s sharp tone. 

For a long moment nothing happens as darkness encompasses him. Then pain. Fire curls in the pit of his stomach and wildly spreads through his veins, into every inch of his body and blanking his mind into white nothingness. It hurts, and it’s only a second, but that second feels like years of roasting in Amaterasu.

Voices suddenly thunder around him as memories of his life flashes before his eyes; and, he yearns for when life was so simple. Maybe if he’d just reached out to the Uchiha earlier, things could have ended differently. 

“Naruto!” warmth settles in the gap in his chest, and even though he’s slowly falling to the clutches of the Shinigami, Naruto knows that voice anywhere. Sakura’s desperate cries grow further and further away, the warmth fading until it’s just the dreadful silence of solitude. 

His dream was to become Hokage and surpass the ones before him, but the dream he’s been chasing after the most in his entire life was to bring Sasuke home. Because how else can he become Hokage if can’t even save one friend? His words, his promises, his Nindo, and more than anything: his precious people – he always shouted at the top of his lungs that he’d become Hokage no matter what, and he truly believed it; he declared determinedly he’d drag Sasuke home no matter what and he’d die trying. He failed them all. It was arrogant for him to think he can have both the Hat, and knock some sense into his stubbornly former teammate’s head. If someone were to ask him which he’d choose now, he’d choose Sasuke over the Hat any day; but too late. It took killing his friend for him to figure out the harsh reality of how things can never be simply resolved. In a way, he can understand Sasuke’s idea of a Hokage. Hell, he’s always understood, just never agreed with it.

When Naruto opens his eyes ( _When had I closed them? And why are they opening again if I'm dead?_ ), he blinks away the brightness. 

A sudden chill crawls through Naruto and he _breathes_ , shuddering as he sits up and examines his surroundings. Only for his breath to catch in his suddenly constricted throat when he studies the familiar room he had when he lived by himself after getting kicked out from the Orphanage. Dirty clothes lay strewn across his floor with a pile of empty instant ramen trash shoved into a corner of the small room. The window showcasing the heart of the village is closed, worn-out curtains covering the breathtaking view he's seen growing up in his early years. 

It smells awful in the room too, and isn’t that surprising? ( _How could one smell in the afterlife?_ ) Why would he come here after dying? 

The soundless ticks of a clock echo in the silence of the room, his mind spiraling into one jumbled mess of questions and emotions too quick for him to decipher as the seconds tick by. His eyes dart around the room, taking in details of his first apartment with such clarity that puts his former dreams of it to shame and only adding ammunition to the rapidly growing headache he can feel forming. 

By the time he gets his bearings, the brightness of the sunlight filtering through the curtains have brightened considerably. The heat cooling the goosebumps running along his skin. Along his hand. _Tiny hand._

There's a long moment of Naruto just staring. Before snapping out of his stupor and makes a dash for the restroom and gawks at his reflection. He doesn’t know how old he is at the moment, but he’s certainly far off from when he became a Genin judging by the little boy in his pajamas and cap he sees in his reflection who looks no older than eight, maybe even younger, instead of a healthy seventeen year old Naruto. 

Why would he take the form of when he was most criticized and easily beaten with some cold glares? Is this hell then? Is he supposed to live his nightmare of a childhood again for killing Sasuke? Maybe he deserves it, but the thought of what lies beyond his apartment walls frightens him. 

Too many.

Too many thoughts hit him. Emotions building and building. Too much. It's too, too much. His heart can't take it. 

_The heart Sakura had used her own hands to try to revive. Twice._ The second time being when he last felt her trying to heal the organ that wasn't there anymore.

Too many. Too much. Too little. 

Breathing is hard. 

There's a wrongness about his situation, about this nightmarish dream and the room and himself. He struggles to calm down, to find control to reign in his raging emotions and figure out what exactly is so wrong. 

The next time he comes to, the shade filtering through the curtain has darkened in color. 

Whatever the cause is that prompted this...whatever this place is, Naruto isn't going to venture out of the safe confines of his apartment to find out. Not when the wrongness wraps around his body in a tight fit that leaves his chest and his whole right arm itching. So he stays cooped up in his apartment. He remains under the sheet of his blanket and stares at the white cloth, ignoring his dream body’s needs. 

However, that quickly fails. Once he closes his eyes, he’ll see Sasuke’s lifeless body, and if he stares out at the inside of his apartment his eyes would automatically snap to the shadows of objects or darkened corners, in fear of what he may see hiding. One time he saw Neji’s corpse, and more than once had seen Kaguya and her bastard of a son, Black Zetsu. 

He’d rather stare blankly at the white sheet and pretend he’s in the Pure Land and not this hell. 

It’s proving to be hard as three full, painfully, antagonizing days pass, and he’s only had a handful of naps for about an hour before he wakes up sobbing from nightmares of the Fourth Shinobi War, of the deaths he could have prevented, and from the unbearable pain of it all. 

The fourth day he feels like he’s dying all over again. He didn’t want to go into the restroom to throw up because of the mirror inside it, so he took to having his trashcan next to his bed do. His room is beginning to smell stuffy and making him feel sick. Who knows, he might be sick already. If that wasn’t bad enough, he hasn’t eaten at all. His nightmarish dream is stubbornly persistent in making it feel all too real. 

Last time he had ramen was before he was summoned to meet the Great Toad Sage and confirmed he’d be fighting ( _killing_ ) Sasuke. He knows he only ever buys cup of instant ramen, so he never went into his kitchen. Ramen somehow doesn’t sound so good anymore. Everything just feels too wrong, and he doesn’t know what to do to fix it or how to leave this place. 

Hard coughs escape his lips, and Naruto cringes at the painful dryness in his throat from lack of consuming water, and no way in hell will he either. Water reminds him of the waterfall at The Valley of The End. The river decorated with drops of his and Sasuke’s blood and the bastard's– 

Naruto rolls over the bed, dry-heaving into the bucket full of waste he threw up the days before. The throbbing in his head and aching stomach isn’t helping anything either. 

No matter how much he tries to keep his mind blank, he remembers horrific moments in his life which consequently all end in seeing Sasuke’s lifeless body. 

_Why?_ Naruto thinks as he wipes his mouth and falls back onto his bed, dazedly staring up at the cracks lining the ceiling. One spot vaguely reminds him of Chidori that put a hole through his chest twice, the first time almost killing him, and the second time it succeeding in doing so, and he ignores it to the best of his abilities. 

Familiar black spots dot his vision soon after. As his heartbeat thunders in his chest and a ringing sound deafening him to the point of hurting. No matter how many times these attacks occur in the last few days, it feels worse than the last. 

Panic immediately bubbles forth, and he cries out for help. He doesn’t know if the words are leaving his lips, so he _screams_ ; screaming out to the darkness and the bloody hands that grab and try to devour him. He tries to fight back, but it’s a losing battle on his end so he begs for them to STOP, that he’s sorry for what he did. But nobody is listening. 

Then nothing.


	2. Chapter Two (Unedited)

Hiruzen Sarutobi knows age is catching up to him, he can feel it not only in his bones, but in the heavy wrinkles creasing his skin. He did retire once already and had his successor to pass on the mantle, but the Yondaime dutifully saved the village five years ago at the cost of his life, leaving the Sandaime no choice but to wear the hat again; although, it did help in keeping his mind off the loss of his wife and his successor and his successor’s wife. Except he’d rather not have lost such a once in a generation leader, one with the potential to surpass his predecessors. That and, he didn’t miss all the paperwork that comes with the Hat, he'd gleefully been more than happy to pass it onto the next generation. So much for that. 

A weary sigh escapes his lips as he declines an Inuzuka’s impossible request. 

It’s been peaceful these last couple days, and he dearly hopes it remains so for the nest couple centuries. But, the Uchiha Clan has been planning their coup and it’s only a matter of time before they make a move. He’s still searching for a way to save both the village and that troublesome Clan. If only the Kyuubi Attack didn’t happen, then none of those questionable rumors would have added oil to the fire that was there from the time of the founding of the village and a certain Uchiha’s betrayal. 

A pulse of chakra flickers to catch his attention and he pauses when Anbu Rat greets him with “Hokage-sama”. Rat who should be guarding a certain blonde with Bat. 

“Speak.” Hiruzen demands warily, inwardly hoping that Naruto hasn’t caused some kind of trouble again. Now that he thinks about the blonde, Hiruzen hasn’t heard any complaints of the prankster these past few days. 

“Uzumaki Naruto hasn’t left his apartment for the last three days, today included. However, four minutes ago, Bat and I heard screaming late in the morning so we entered his apartment and discovered him having a panic attack; cause unknown. We had to knock him unconscious and bring him to the hospital due to his unhealthy state. Nurses have found no physical harm, Hokage-sama.”

The Hokage dismisses the Anbu back to Bodyguard duty after his report, immediately setting off to visit the blonde while mentally mulling over Rat’s words, paperwork set aside for now. Naruto staying cooped in his apartment for three – almost four days – is unheard of, and quite worrisome. And the boy was screaming today? Why hadn’t they informed him earlier of the boy’s weird behavior? More importantly, what of Naruto? 

_Oh._

Once he arrives to the boy’s room, Hiruzen feels guilt claw at him for wanting to retire blissfully and enjoy the rest of his days when his gaze lands on the unconscious figure of Konohagakure’s most hated hero. 

Naruto’s physical features displays signs of malnutrition, and most likely insomnia from the dark bags under the blonde’s eyes, which is odd, considering he visited the boy a week ago and he seemed fine like usual and has been gaining some weight since he left the orphanage. Had something happened from when he last visited till now? If so, it must be something bad.

After putting up a privacy seal, he has Rat brief him on Naruto’s behavior the last few days again. Naruto was fine five days ago and had made it to his apartment with no trouble that night. Then, the boy remained there for the next few days until today when he began screaming. There were no signs of leaving or entering the apartment during the entire time. Same report as the first. It’s surprising, and very unsettling. 

Sometimes he wonders what kind of life Naruto would have had had Minato survived the sealing of the Kyuubi. There can be many things that could upset the child or harm him, and many in the village who would gladly do so and do so without getting caught. Only, he trusts they would follow his unofficial law that keeps them at bay for the boy’s protection, and for those who don't, he had them executed to enforce his law. However, the only way he’d get answers is to wait for Naruto to wake up before Hiruzen acts. 

Naruto wakens two days later. 

*****

A low groan escapes Naruto’s mouth. He blinks rapidly to clear away the blurriness and brightness. The beeping sound in the background is getting annoying and the smell of disinfectant and alcohol is rubbing his nose the wrong way. Why would he be in the hospital? He tries to call out for Sakura or Tsunade only to end up in a coughing fit. _Water._ He needs water. His head throbs at the thought of water, mind trying to recall whatever landed him in the hospital. Did he get beat up by Sakura-chan again? 

Naruto breathes heavily through the air after coughing and stares blankly at the white ceiling. There’s something he’s forgetting, it feels really important, but for the life of him, Naruto just can’t remember what it is he forgot. 

Knocking echoes in the room and he shifts his head slightly to stare at his visitor. Sakura-chan, Tsunade-baachan, Kaka-sensei, and quite a few other faces come to mind only for his brain to short circuit and blank. _Sandaime-Jiji_ is _none_ of the people he expected to enter the room. Naruto stares at the old man in the white robe with red flames at the ends; a ghost of an old man that Naruto considered one of his precious people who had long since died. There’s that tug in his mind again, dread stirring in the pit of his stomach. What was that important something he forgot again?

The Sandiame Hokage smiles softly at him. That oh-so-familiar smile Naruto missed. “Good afternoon Naruto. How are you feeling?”

Naruto continues to stare without answering. 

A greying eyebrow rises at the lack of response. The Hokage moves closer, using the back of his hand to feel the blonde’s forehead. 

Naruto’s heart picks up in his chest, the beeping of the monitor following to the beat when he feels heat emitting from the wrinkling appendage. What did he forget? Sandaime-Jiji is _dead_ , and Naruto doesn’t know how a dead man can radiate warmth. Something important yanks harder in his mind and he begins struggling to breathe. 

“Naruto?” The Hokage’s eyebrows furrow as he pulls his hand away – _his warm hand,_ his brain supplies through the throbbing – with a worried expression. 

The one who should be wearing that robe is Tsunade-baachan. Naruto was going to get that robe and hat from her after the war was over, after he fought Sasuke, and brought-

_Sasuke... Sasuke. Sasuke!_ How could he forget something so important? _Something like that?! The war?! His death?! And the Sandaime…_

Naruto’s eyes pierce the old man who blinks at the action. He can feel Sandaime-Jiji’s faint chakra signature with his waning sensory ability in his weary state. In the corners of the room and outside in the hallway, he can also feel faint chakra signatures of who must be the Anbu guards. For who, he doesn’t know. 

_Was everything just a bad dream?_ A nightmare his mind suddenly cocked up? 

“Jiji…” Naruto pitifully croaks out, and the Hokage leans closer to hear better, “ _…Jiji…_ ” He repeats; already boarding on the edge of panicking if there’s so much as a switch of the Hokage’s body turning into a corpse and proving this really is Hell instead. Before he can voice his question, he begins coughing, the dryness in his throat scorching. Everything feels wrong, his small body tight and constricting. 

A nurse burst into the room and does something to him, because he blacks out again before he could scream _what the bloody hell_ is going on. 

He appears in his mindscape, water dripping and echoing ominously in the familiar tunnels. He glances up at the large _sealed_ gate separating him and Kurama. Odd, he remembers unsealing it to give some space for the fox and to share their powers. Or did he?

The water splashes, movement on the other side of the seal disrupting it. It’s dark in his mindscape, similar when he first met the grumpy Bijuu full of hate. Two red slitted pupils stare down at him. 

Kurama snorts. _**Well, I didn’t expect this. I thought that Uchiha bastard killed us.**_ He moves closer to the bars and settles down there to be as close to his host as possible. 

_We aren’t dead?_ Naruto asks weakly and startles at how healthy he sounds. He glances down at his hands in confusion, looks past them to stare down at his reflection in the water. He looks like his seventeen year old self. Was being a little kid again real? Just a nightmare from blacking out? 

_Nothing makes sense!_

Kurama huffs, eyes trained on the blonde with an unreadable gleam in them. _**I don’t know how, but we are in the past. I know because I merged with myself, both the Ying and Yang, in this time; and the dormant state from the seal still being fresh for him is taking a toll on me. You seemed to have your memories and chakra, but it’s sealed away with me on this side Kit.**_

Past. In the past. Ying and Yang. Memories. None of it makes sense. _Huh?_

_**We’re in the past Kit. Think. If we’re in the past we could change some things from our future. Sasuke isn’t dead, the perverted sage isn’t as well, and even that Hyuuga brat from the branch family.**_ Kurama explains as if talking to a child. 

His words very, very slowly sinks into the blonde. 

_But I already killed Sasuke,_ Naruto thinks numbly. It’s there in his memories, so it happened. And what if he just makes things worse? What if this is the nightmare? _What’s real and what’s not?_

A vicious growl snaps Naruto out of his rising panic. _**Don’t.**_ Kurama glares at the blonde, snarling, _**Don’t question my existence. I’m real Naruto, and so are you being in your pathetic scrawny little self. Jiji must have been the one who brought us back.**_

Despite the frightening sight of an angry Kyuubi that would no doubt send a lesser man running, Naruto feels himself calming down and offering the fox an apologetic smile. _Sorry, Kurama. I just need a while to think about it._ He walks past the bars and lies on the beast’s red furcoat tinged a little orange. _I’m just...tired._ And he really is. He doesn’t want to think about what the fox said, not now.

The two close their eyes, basking in each other’s existence. 

Naruto pushes his last moments of life deep down, willing himself to endure the suffering and pain, temporarily locking his last seventeen years-worth of memories so he can be mentally prepared to face this new change when he wakes up.


	3. Chapter Three  (Unedited)

The next morning Naruto was more prepared, forcing himself to down the cup of water on his little bed stand without throwing it up. It’s hard work, but a huge step forward. 

After, he sits upright, just staring out the window with a slight daze to his eyes, easily spotting buildings he hasn’t seen since Pein leveled the village. His chest tightens at the thought of it happening again. Change? Can he really change the past? The future? Nagato. Obito…all of those wronged and lost to the Cycle of Hatred. Can he really save them this time? He doesn't want to think about it.

He can feel all the chakra signatures of the villagers better today, civilians and shinobi alike. One waning ancient chakra signature that still burns brightly despite being suppressed is making its way towards him. He has an idea who it is, considering one of the Anbu guards stationed in his room left as soon as he woke up. 

In less than five minutes the Hokage appears. Naruto doesn’t even look his way. He’ll postpone as long as he can in avoiding certain faces to lessen the phantom pain his memories won’t let him let go. 

“Naruto. Good morning.” The Sandaime seats himself in the only chair in the room. The blonde can feel experienced eyes trying to pick him apart. The old man purposely clears his throat, “Naruto? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Naruto’s fists clench the blanket covering his legs, his jaws reflexively grounding as anger suddenly bubbles inside of him. That’s no good since none of this is the old man’s fault, so the blonde forces himself to relax. His body still remains tense in the end, prepared to flee should the need arise. 

“Jiji is this real?” Naruto’s traitorous mouth blurts out instead of saying he’s fine. From the window’s reflection, he can see the corner of the Hokage’s lip tilt down, while inside he feels Kurama’s reassuring presence.

“What is real?” Sandaime-Jiji patiently questions. 

_Everything. Is everything real?_ That’s what he wants to know, but he can’t seem to put it into words. He tries, but feels a familiar lump in his throat nearly choking him. He desperately blinks back his tears, feeling more than one pair of eyes on him; there’s eight Anbus on guard watching him and the Hokage. For some reason he doesn’t want to cry in front of them so he clamps his mouth shut and thinks of a way to answer without speaking. It’s futile. 

Several awkward minutes pass before Naruto finds his voice, shining blue eyes staring at the window to the village outside the hospital walls. “This, Jiji…” He sounds breathless as he grits the words out. “There. _Here._ Is any of this real?” The image of his parents appears in his mind causing his emotions to begin swirling chaotically in him. An idea suddenly comes to mind. “Because I remember…I saw a giant fox attacking the village that was being controlled by a masked man.” 

The gathered Anbus’ chakra spike slightly for a split second, but since they’re professional, it’s not long enough for a normal sensor to catch. Naruto isn’t a normal sensor by any means. The Hokage, however, is wearing a blank expression from what Naruto can see of his reflection. 

“I saw a woman with red hair and a man with blonde hair,” Naruto is venting now, but only saying things that’ll get them thinking thanks to Kurama’s quick thinking. “The man made the fox disappear, but…the man and the lady with pretty hair were dying. They said…they said they loved me. They called me their son.” Finally Naruto turns to the Sandaime whose eyes have widen slightly at the last piece of information. “Jiji, was that real? Is any of this real?” A part of Naruto hopes not. That the future in his memory is just a dream his mind conjured up at a young age. That nothing like that ever happened and never will happen. He hopes not, yet also hopes so.

Naruto doesn’t need to be in Bijuu mode to feel the tension radiating off of the Anbu. He shouldn’t be surprised that even the elite of the elites hadn’t connected the dots of who his parents were, or well most of them hadn’t, at least those who weren’t close to his parents. It’ll be embarrassing if they didn’t understand Naruto is talking about the Yondaime. Fortunately, by the impressively concealed anger and confusion reigned in, Naruto knows they know he’s referring to the Yondaime calling him his son. 

“Naruto, where did you hear that?” The Hokage asks as if nothing is wrong, but Naruto can just feel the tension coiling in the man. 

Inwardly holding back from screaming at the old man, the blonde answers calmly, if only a little confused and desperate. “I saw it. In my dreams. I think. Is it really just a dream? Is this a dream?” He bites his lip. “ _I’m scared,_ Jiji.” He’s giving them hints. Hints to what, he’s unsure exactly. His mind is still trying to adjust to his sudden predicament, but he is scared, and he feels like he should tell someone he is before it eats him inside.

Silence settles over the two main occupants in the room. 

“Naruto, can you tell me more about this dream of yours?” The Sandaime decides to ask instead. The blonde knows the old man is probably thinking it’s from the Kyuubi’s interference that he’s having these dreams, or worse, that it’s Kurama’s memories he’s seeing. 

Mentally mulling over how to word his response, Naruto breaks his eyes away from the ( _former,_ he reminds himself) dead man’s unnerving gaze. “The masked man had one eye whole and inside was…was a red eye. He fought the blonde man, but was defeated and disappeared.” Images of the night he was born surfaces and he wills himself to not be angry. In a way it wasn’t Obito’s fault, just as much it wasn’t Kurama’s. “The blonde man said he wanted me to be seen as a Hero and the pretty lady told me she was sorry, and they…said they love me.” _And then my life was hell. I was hunted and fought for my precious people and getting the acknowledgement I earned through hard work and never giving up; even if Ero-sennin died, or when shit hit the fan before and during the Fourth Shinobi War, and in the face of a Goddess to save the world. Then, I killed one of my precious people, and he killed me in a fight of Wills and Dreams._ “Jiji…is any of that real?” _Yes, yes it is_ —was, _was real._

There’s a long pause between the two before the Hokage carefully answers Naruto’s weighing question after a resigned sigh. “Naruto…I’m afraid I cannot answer that yet.”

He doesn’t need to; Naruto already knows it’s all real. Kurama’s word is enough proof; the Bijuu is the one thing holding him together in this timeline despite the memories of his past, the possible future. But it _hurts._ He wanted the old man to tell the truth too. He feels betrayed for being declined something he should know and has every right to know, even if he already does, but still. The Hokage’s answer hurts him even if he’s trying to protect him. 

The Hokage stands, hands folded behind his back. “The doctor has informed me that you’ll be here for the next few days. I’ll visit when I can.”

From the windows reflection Naruto watched the back of the Hokage leave the room with four of his personal Anbu guards. Finally the waterworks slide down his whiskered cheeks. 

_Damnit! There’s still four Anbu here! Stop crying, you’re not a baby idiot!_

_**Your memories of the future may have mentally matured you through your spiritual chakra; however, it doesn’t completely erase your younger self who was suddenly assaulted by years-worth of memories that can break a lesser man. It’ll explain why you’re emotionally unstable, and added to your last moments in death, I’m surprised you haven’t entirely lost it yet.** _

Well, that isn’t reassuring at all for him.

 _Still…I don’t want to cry in front of these people!_ Naruto weakly scrubs the tears away bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them so he can hide his face in the folded appendages. 

“I’m sorry. I’m _so so sorry._ ” He whispers hoarsely, his words echoing tauntingly in the quiet room as the images of the people he failed, the promises he’s broken, and his greatest shame come to mind. 

Kurama silently watches as his Jinchuriki curls into himself as if he wants to disappear. With an exasperated sigh, the Bijuu settles himself beside the blonde. He’ll just let his Jinchuriki let all of it out before he begins annoying the brat. For now he’ll just offer his silent comfort in their shared link. 

Naruto doesn’t hesitant to lean into the fox, but keeps his face hidden in his arms and legs. 

*********

As soon as Naruto mentioned a giant fox, Hiruzen knew the day can only get worse. Dread set in the pit of his stomach as his mind quickly thought over _what, how, why._ It could be the fox’s influence, but aside from the Bijuu, the only other living witness of that night was Naruto. He must take into account that maybe the boy is remembering that night with the Kyuubi’s influence, or it’s just the Kyuubi trying to influence him, or another outside source. 

Whatever it is, he won’t know for sure unless they see the boy’s mind. A Yamanka is needed, but there’s a law that prohibits anyone from entering a Jinchuriki’s mind for the mind reader’s safety. Unfortunately, that law must be ignored now, and in order to do that he’ll have to take it up with the council and get votes to overrule it. If only that was the hardest part.

Hiruzen quickly sends Anbu to inform the council representatives for an immediate meeting tomorrow and for one to call Inoichi. Things just got complicated. 

Meanwhile, several Anbu have already informed their targets of the meeting. None are too keen of the sudden summon without a reason, and can only sigh, grumble, even curse for it’ll surely be nothing good when some are called back from their missions and others have to drop their duties or change their schedule for this immediate meeting. 

“Too troublesome,” Nara Shikaku mutters after the Anbu flickers away. 

“What do you think this is about?” His friend Choza says from beside him. 

The two friends are sitting in the bar for shinobi only waiting for their third friend. 

“Don’t know.” Shikaku mumbles, taking a long sip of alcohol from his glass cup. He swirls the remaining contents inside, looking at it thoughtfully, “I haven’t heard anything,” which is saying something since he’s the Jounin Commander. 

“Huh, me neither. I hope it’s nothing bad,” Choza pauses, his eyes flickering to the entrance of the bar, “Hey, Inoichi! You finally made it.”

Inoichi makes his way over with a grim expression and sits on the other side of the Nara Head. “I was being informed about the meeting tomorrow.”

Shikaku eyes the blonde critically. “You know why we’re having a sudden Council Meeting.” 

“Oh?” Choza perks up and leans forward to stare at his other friend expectantly. “Is it possible for us to know yet?”

Inoichi seems to think it over before he shakes his head. “Not here,” he says, discreetly glancing at the gathered shinobi around the bar who seem to be minding their business. The three know most of who are listening to their conversation. It’s a trait for almost all shinobi to be noisy. 

Shikaku shrugs, gulping down the rest of his choice of poison. “Another,” he says to the bartender who gladly serves him. “Ah, make that two,” he adds when he remembers his blonde friend’s face. The Yamanka may need it if the information he’s going to tell them later is troublesome. 

Inoichi thanks the bartender before chugging the alcohol. 

_Just how bad is this meeting?_ Shikaku inwardly frowns, his eyebrows furrowing as he thinks of what can worry his friend this much. _Inoichi is the former Head of the Torture & Interrogation Department and... Wait. _ Shikaku back tracks at that little information of his friend as a frown makes it onto his face this time. _Choza and I weren’t briefed on the reason for the sudden Council Meeting tomorrow._ The Nara Head’s eyes meet the blue orbs of his blonde friend who tenses under the calculative stare studying him. _Inoichi probably might have been called back to work on a special case, or will lend help in a special case. There aren’t many reasons, and those are the only two which stick out the most and make sense as to why he out of the others in the Council doesn’t know. But if it’s not to read someone’s mind, what else could it be?_

Shikaku lets Inoichi drag out as much time he needs to relax himself before they set off to the Nara Compound to talk. _So much for taking off from work._ The Nara Head inwardly sighs. _What a drag._


	4. Chapter Four (Unedited)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See Author's Note below.

Hiruzen calmly glides his eyes over the gathered people in the room.

Only his Anbu guards are the unrequired shinobi among the gathered people here for meeting, but he trusts them with his life and the secrets of their village so he isn’t worried. 

His eyes stop on the only blonde sitting at the round table, and Inoichi Yamanka proves to be a veteran shinobi when he remains relaxed under the heavy gaze of the Hokage. He already briefed the man yesterday of his intentions for the meeting today and had given him a choice to think over his request. Of course, if the Hokage got permission to go on with a Yamanka entering the Kyuubi Jinchuriki’s mind, then a Yamanka he will get, even if Inoichi doesn’t personally take the job.

The Sandaime clears his throat, easily gaining the attention of all the occupants in the room. Pleasantries and greetings have already been exchanged so now it’s time to get straight to the point of the meeting. “I’ve called for an immediate meeting with the Council due to unforeseen revelations that may bring us answers as to what happened four years ago on the night of the Kyuubi Attack.”

A heavy tension settles in the air around the gathered occupants.

Hiruzen is thankful there are no accusing glances being thrown around, or to a certain person (Uchiha Fugaku). “Five days ago, Uzuamki Naruto was admitted to the hospital. The second time he came to, which was yesterday, he told me he had a dream. Unfortunately, this dream has caused him to question reality, or he’s trying to deny it, whatever the case, the more pressing issue is he dreamt of a blonde man who was fighting a masked man with a red eye. This same blonde also made the giant fox that was attacking the village disappear. While his dreams are already as questionable since it’s no secret the Yondaime Hokage defeated the Kyuubi, Naruto doesn’t know the physical coloring of the Yondaime, but he did. He also described a feature of his predecessor, the Jinchuriki before him, which is something only a select few knew. It has come to my attention that Naruto is remembering something from that night, and the possibility of the Kyuubi’s influence is high, but they are the only other two witnesses of what happened that night with the Yondaime and Konohagakure’s second Jinchuriki.”

Silence envelopes the occupants in the room. Fugaku has looked like he’s eaten something sour ever since the mention of the masked man and red eye. There are a few stunned expressions among the gathered Council Members at the mention of second Jinchuriki. Of course, when Hiruzen meant only _few in the know_ , he meant the amount that could be counted on one hand.

“You called us here to only tell us this?” Shimura Danzo rhetorically questions.

Holding back from closing his eyes in exasperation, the Sandaime professionally answers, “No. I’ve rallied the Council so I can have you all vote to overrule the law of having a Yamanka going into Uzumaki Naruto’s mind.”

That gets reactions out of the people. They immediately begin talking amongst themselves. Inoichi remains stoic throughout the commotion. The Sandaime already suspects the Yamanka Clan Head told the Nara and Akimichi Clan Heads since they’re old friends, and also because those two are oddly silent.

After several minutes, Hiruzen lets his intimidating aura silence them and get their attention. “I’ll admit there is a high risk for the Yamanka who may do this, but it is a step into solving the Kyuubi’s sudden appearance in the village. I’ve given you time to take in this information, so now I ask for your vote.”

Unsurprisingly, it's Shimura Danzo who answers. "I vote yes." Surprisingly, he _agrees._

Many agreements follow after, quickly becoming majority vote.

All heads turn expectantly to the last person to vote. Inoichi meets the Hokage’s stare and nods. “I vote yes as the Yamanka Clan Head, and personally volunteer to do the Mind Reading Jutsu on the Jinchuriki.”

The Sandaime smiles for a second before he schools his face and returns the nod. He knew he could count on Inoichi. “Naruto will be signed out from the hospital tomorrow, and be escorted to the room with the giant orb so that you can all see what Inoichi sees as witnesses due to your involvement of a majority vote overruling the law of entering a Jinchuriki's mind. Meet at the T&I Headquarters seven sharp. And I know I shouldn’t have to tell you this is S-Rank information, but for security reasons, nothing leaves this room. Dismiss.”

Once the Clan Heads and representatives shuffle out, Hiruzen stops the Yamanka Clan Head. “Inoichi, thank you for volunteering.”

The blonde smiles a little, but it lacks any humor. “How can I agree to something if I myself will not do it? Besides, I was close to Minato-sama than any of my clan members were to him, I thought it’s only right I do this.”

“I see. Thank you,” The Hokage says again, and watches as the blonde leaves.

_Now for the hard part._

*********

The next day Naruto is let go from the hospital. Thanks to Kurama, he was easily healed and only needed nutrients and some food in his body. He'd eaten with gutso despite his dislike for hospital food and quickly regained back his physical strength. His mentality, however, is suffering, his head usually feeling like it's going to split and chest pains annoying the hell out of him. Thankfully ( _again_ ) he has Kurama or he would have long since broken down.

What he _isn’t_ thankful for is being led to the Torture and Interrogation Headquarters and entering a room full of a bunch of grumpy clan heads and their judgmental and scrutinizing stares. He’s almost tempted to childishly stick his tongue out at them if it weren’t for the stifling tension strangling him. Maybe he said too much the other day? At least some like Shikamaru’s dad has on a neutral expression.

_**Don’t worry. Your memories of the future are sealed away with me, if worse comes to worse and he doesn't answer, I’ll scare the bastard out.** _

Naruto sighs in relief. He's led to sit on a chair in front of a giant orb half the size of a Bijuu Bomb, looking up to the Hokage when the old man stands in front of him with a warm smile. The Uzumaki frowns, “Jiji, what’s going on?” He already knows, but he doesn't know any other way at the moment to distract his self from his anxiousness.

“We’re going to see if your dream is real, and find a way to stop it from bothering you. It may hurt a little, but as long as you don’t fight the intrusion it won’t be too bad.” Sandaime-Jiji calmly explains.

Naruto’s face scrunches up in confusion as he inwardly panics. Kurama reassures him again until the blonde calms down, if only slightly. He glances at the gathered people and his frown deepens, and then he’s scowling when he meets a sneering man with those cold eyes. “Why are they here Jiji?” He hisses out, anger quickly bubbling up in him.

“For witness’ purposes," the Hokage sighs, "Please Naruto, don’t make this harder than it needs to be. They're also here to help.”

Naruto glances up at the old man, eyes almost pleading. “Then they know if this is real? You? Or the dreams?”

The Nara Head and a few others frown at the question. From the looks of it, only now they’re realizing just how troublesome the situation is for the Uzumaki child himself. Naruto isn't too sure himself just how much trouble he's in, or the kind there is.

Nodding, the Sandaime steps aside to let the Yamanka Clan Head take the stage.

Naruto eyes the man, Ino’s father, curiously.

“Don’t fight it,” Inoichi says before placing his right palm on Naruto’s head. “And relax.”

A numbing pain prickles in Naruto’s head, an emptiness blanking his mind. 

*********

Meanwhile, Inoichi barely even struggles to enter the younger blonde’s mind. He frowns when he appears in a sewer, an eerie darkness obscuring the end of the paths with a few openings on the sides leading to another direction. There's the sound of water dripping, echoing ominously in the silence that sends chills through the Yamanka.

He glances down when there’s a splash, blue eyes surveying the ankle-deep pool of water that’s covering the entire floor. When he adds that with the leaking pipes running along the damaged walls, Inoichi has to hold back a shudder at the state of the Uzumaki's mindscape, proof the foundation of the boy’s poor emotional mentality, and credibility that Naruto may be suffering psychological trauma leading to him to question reality. He just has to find the reason, but he has a feeling he already knows and he's only just begun, yet things so far aren't looking so good.

But, this also shows that Naruto isn’t going to break easily. Or well, not _yet_.

Inoichi silently follows the tunnel he appeared in first to see where he’ll end up.

For several minutes (what feels like hours) he finally comes to an opening at the end of the tunnel where there’s a large object blocking his path. All the hair on his body stands up in fear at the sight of giant bars with a tag and the word ‘seal’ written on it. The den of the Kyuubi. 

Two frightening red-slit eyes open in the darkness on the other side of the gates causing Inoichi to instinctively take a step back. A rumbling growl comes from the Kyuubi as it stands to its full height. 

Inoichi quickly turns around to flee, his face immediately draining of color when he turns around and there’s only darkness. He spins around to face the Kyuubi when it lets out what sounds like an amused huff. 

Then, to the Yamanka’s growing horror, the seal lights up as if it’s going to burn itself away, momentarily blinding everything. Once it dies away, Inoichi blinks away the dark spots and squints at the bright form before him. His jaw involuntarily drops when a familiar blonde man stands across him in a new place that’s sparkling white with no Kyuubi in sight.

“ _Mi-Minato-sama?!_ ”

A man in a white cloak with the words ‘Fourth Hokage’ engraved on the back and red flames on the edges, bright, blonde hair, and electric blue eyes—it can’t be anyone else. The chakra signature feels like Namikaze Minato’s too. 

“Ah, Inoichi-san,” Namikaze Minato smiles gently, welcoming. “If you’re wondering, I sealed a portion of my chakra into the seal so if Naruto ever loses himself to eight tails, I’ll be able to reseal the seal. Or in your case, if any mind readers or manipulators fall deeper into my son’s consciousness and may run into the Kyuubi, I’ll be able to intercept them.”

Inoichi doesn’t know whether to be shocked, relieved, or sad about this revelation. “You sealed the Kyuubi into your son?” The Yamanka immediately regrets asking that question realizing how rude and disrespectful he’s being.

Before he could apologize, Minato smiles softly, but the pain evident in his eyes say otherwise. “If I’d asked another parent to give up their child to seal the Kyuubi inside, what do you think they would have said? Would you have let me seal it into your daughter?” The Yamanka’s expression turns dark, and that’s all the answer the Namikaze blonde needs. “I wouldn’t make someone do so if I weren’t willing to do so myself. I did it believing the village would see Naruto as a hero, but…”

Inoichi winces, knowing the Uzumaki boy hasn’t been seen as such. 

“It was foolish of me to think so,” Minato’s smile drops. “But, I would have done it anyways. There was no time, and I also believe Naruto will be able to control the Kyuubi’s power and use it to fight off the enemy who attacked the village the night he was born.”

The Yamanka blonde tenses at those words, Minato’s aura becoming similar to the man who once led the village amazingly despite his short term. This is what they were looking for.

The Yondaime continues, “As you’ve heard about Naruto’s dreams, what he said is true. A masked man attacked right after my wife, Uzumaki Kushina, the Jinchuriki before Naruto, gave birth to our son. He knew the seal of a female Jinchuriki would be at its weakest during childbirth. With the way he was fighting me using the Sharigan with a Space Dimension Jutsu that let things phase through his body and the ability to teleport, I believe he’s an Uchiha. It was how he got through the high security barriers and Anbu guards. When we fought, he knew my style of fighting. My first guess was he was Uchiha Madara, but even I know that should be impossible. However, I didn’t have enough time to tell Sandaime-sama after I sealed the Kyuubi into Naruto.”

“I’ll report this to the Sandaime.” Inoichi promises, knowing the Sandaime was watching from the outside on the Giant Orb. “Does this mean you’re the source of Naruto’s dreams?”

“In a way, yes,” Minato replies cryptically with a humorless smile. “It wouldn’t be possible if not for the Kyuubi and the seal.”

The Yamanka studies the blonde before him, trying to see underneath the underneath if there’s any.

Minato stares at Inoichi for a moment, and then surprises him with, “Fugaku is my friend, and his wife was best friends with Kushina. We know they wouldn’t cross us.” His eyes turn cold, sending shivers down the Yamanka blonde’s spine. “And they didn’t. I doubt any of the Uchihas accounted for in the Clan would pull that stunt either.”

“What are you saying?” Inoichi’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, easily catching on to the way that sentence was specifically worded. 

“It might be an Uchiha who is either listed KIA or MIA, and may have been manipulated. The Shodaime never knew what happened to Madara after their fight, the Uchiha’s body disappeared. There’s a possibility Madara lived long enough to pass on his grudge against the village, or someone stole his eyes and have kept it in top condition and has a grudge against the village.”

“You sound like you’re defending the Uchiha Clan.” Inoichi states the obvious. “Why?”

Minato’s eyes sadden, but he doesn’t look away. “I have a feeling who the masked Uchiha is. Fugaku is one of the two Uchihas to have sparred with me multiple times. And I know his fighting style as much as he knows mine, so he’s ruled out. The other however,” and the Namikaze blonde makes a pained expression. “Was my deceased student, Uchiha Obito.” 

“You think it’s this Obito?” The Yamanka Clan Head questions. “How did he die?”

“His teammates said the cave exploded and rocks crushed him to death. But before he died, he gave one of his Sharigan to Kakashi. The body was never recovered. I may be looking too much into it, but that masked man only had one eye hole. He knew how I fought. Obito was very close to Kushina and me. If the enemy isn’t Uchiha Madara, than he’s most likely Uchiha Obito; either way, this person failed in capturing the Kyuubi and they’ll be back for it; they also wish for the destruction of the Uchiha Clan along with the village. I can show you.”

Inoichi’s eyes widen. “Show me? How?”

A teasing smirk is sent the Yamanka blonde’s way.

“I may be a chakra imprint, but all my memories before my death are still with me. You can use your clan jutsu to read my mind.” 

“Is that safe?” Inoichi warily asks. 

“I put some of mine and Kushina’s chakra into the seal. In a way, we are part of the seal, or more like the gates sealing the Kyuubi, while Naruto guards the gates. Jiraiya is the only one who has the key to completely setting the Kyuubi free and able to release it from Naruto. However, and this I hope never comes to happen to my son, it doesn’t necessarily mean that an outside force can’t mess with the seal on Naruto’s stomach and forcibly extract the beast.”

The Yamanka blonde dutifully absorbs all of this information. “You sealed the Kyuubi into your son at the cost of your life. This is a personal question you don’t have to answer, but is there anything we should know about the seal for precaution sake?”

“Other than the fact that I made it so Naruto can use the Kyuubi’s chakra to protect himself and those he cares about? I guess I could say that the sealing I used makes it so should Naruto die, the beast will die too and will be dragged to the Shinigami’s stomach with our souls.” Minato answers firmly. His eyes harden. “Inoichi. Naruto is my son, and I am able to see through the seal of what goes on in his life. It may be my fault for putting this burden upon my son, but I am angry at the villagers even though I understand their grieving. However, I will never forgive anyone should this information leak out and make Naruto a target more than he already is.”

“…Wait. You’re saying that the Kyuubi can die?” Inoichi nearly exclaims in disbelief. 

The Namikaze blonde shakes his head. “No. More like it just becomes sealed in another plane, like the afterlife in a sense. It can still be unsealed. Please. It’s enough as it is my son suffers from the villagers’ plight, I’d rather not have the Council spreading out this information.”

“We’ll see,” is all Inoichi can say because he can’t speak up for the Council as a whole. “Now about me reading your mind?”

Minato nods, stepping closer to the other blonde and allows him and the others outside watching to see the night of Naruto’s birth. 

And see Inoichi does. 

Inoichi sees his late Hokage’s memories, as the man feared for his speed and intelligence frets over his wife in labor while holding the frightening Kyuubi into its seal. It’s a refreshing, yet imposing scene.

Kushina, an acquaintance more than a friend to him really, gives birth. Biwako, the Sandaime Hokage’s late wife, brings the newborn to his mother to see.

The Yondaime moves to strengthen the seal only to freeze as the guards and midwifes fall to the ground, dead, and a masked individual snatches the newborn and threatens its life in exchange for the Jinchuriki. It’s the first time Inoichi had ever seen the Yondaime look seriously panicked. The masked man tries to kill the newborn and successfully splits the family apart. The Yondaime brings Naruto back into their home and goes to fetch his wife, only to be too late, but still manages to save her life from the controlled Kyuubi. He brings his dying wife to their son and leaves to battle the Kyuubi. 

The Yondaime is able to teleport a massive chakra bomb far away before fighting the masked man who is undeniably an Uchiha, and breaks the Kyuubi from the masked Uchiha’s control. The two continue fighting until the Yondaime confronts the attacker and wins the fight, but fails to finish off the enemy who escapes. 

Then, the Yondaime calls his summons to hold down the Kyuubi and transport it away from the village while a shadow clone brings his wife and son to them. The secretly married couple argues over what’s best to deal with the Kyuubi while it’s still chained down by Kushina’s chakra chains. The Yondaime sticks to his belief and trust in the villagers and his son before sealing half of the Kyuubi in him, and the both newly made parents quickly jump to protect their child from the Bijuu, giving their last farewells to their precious son before the Yondaime seals the remaining half into his son.

When the jutsu stops, Inoichi quickly wipes away the tears. It’s a sad, heartbreaking, and inspiring memory that he knows he’ll never forget. A warm hand on his shoulder catches his attention and he meets enchanting blue eyes and a soft smile.

Minato squeezes his friend’s shoulder. “I’ve had time to think about the masked Uchiha while here. Though his fighting style may have drastically improved into something better with added taijutsu moves I’m unfamiliar with, and even though it breaks my heart when I look back and am reminded of him, a part of me believes that the attacker all those years ago was Uchiha Obito. And maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part, but he truly believes that he can get peace by using the power of the Bijuu, and I can only hope he’s being manipulated. There’s so much that could have happened that set Obito on this path after those rocks fell on him. I know for a fact he would have come home to Konohagakure once he was able to. Something happened to him, but even I know, as once being Hokage, that I must think of the village first. And so this is why I’m telling you of who I think the identity of the masked Uchiha is—as the Yondiame.”

Inoichi eyes close as he lets the information sink in, shoving aside the small part of him that wonders how those outside watching are taking the news. Many had thought an Uchiha was controlling the Kyuubi that night, yet there was no proof. But here is proof. “I’m sure the Sandaime will look into this,” He eventually says as he evenly meets the Yondaime’s gaze. “Thank you for your sacrifice and service Yondaime-sama.”

The Namikaze blonde nods, letting his hand drop back to his side. 

“Is that all?” At Minato’s nod again, Inoichi smiles slightly before asking another question. “Do you want us to give a message to your son?” 

Minato blinks in surprise before a wide smile graces his face. “Tell him Kushina and I love him, and that we’re watching over him. When the time comes, we’ll meet again, and that no matter what path he takes, we will still love him. Oh, and that if he ever sees Kakashi and Jiraiya-sensei he should give them a good old rasengan to their stomach for me for not being there for him.”

Inoichi sweatdrops but nods nonetheless. “I’ll be sure to tell him.” He wants to say more to his friend, but he can see his form already leaving the little boy’s mindscape. “It was nice seeing you again, Minato-sama.”

Minato rolls his eyes with a small scowl. “Stop with ‘sama’! Jeez, there’s no need for that. You’re also my friend Inoichi.” He smiles softly then. “Tell Fuguka to stop being grumpy and help Sandaime-sama find the assailant. The elders may give him a hard time, but he’s the Clan Head and times are changing. The attacker is most likely stirring up trouble in the background since he hates the Uchiha Clan for some reason. And I can’t have that. Kushina would be angry to know Mikoto-san and our godson Itachi are in danger. Good luck. I wish I could help with more, but it’s not possible.”

“You’ve helped more than enough. Leave the rest to us.” The Yamanka blonde bows deeply, suppressing his shock at the news of the Uchiha Heir being the Yondaime’s godson. “Goodbye my friend.” He disappears and blinks back into the physical plane. His hand drops from the panting blonde’s forehead whose eyes are wide and unseeing with tears running down his cheeks.

Inoichi idly wonders what chaos will come about with these new revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Note:** Dear Readers, thank you for reading _Rekindle The Will of Fire_! And I'm sorry if the story is slow, or too fast paced. Also, I wanted to inform you what I have planned for this Fanfic. I'm not sure if I'll go into depth on the Arcs in Canon, later on towards the end I'll leave it up to you readers if you'd like me to. It'll take a few more chapters before I get to the main plot for _Rekindle The Will of Fire _; however, I haven't decided how long this Fanfic will be. I have the main points I want inside this story, now I just need to connect the dots and write in between them, so I apologize if I take a while to update.__
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> _This is my first work I published on AO3, I hope you enjoy it!_  
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	5. Chapter Five (Unedited)

Inoichi turns to the Hokage and mirrors the grim expression on the aging leader's face. “You saw my conversation with the Yondaime and his memories?”

The Sandaime nods in confirmation, his furrowed eyebrows making him look older by several years. “Unfortunately, yes.” He walks up to the panting boy, laying a hand on his shoulder to catch the younger blonde’s attention.

It’s then Inoichi gets a good look at the Jinchuriki, only now noticing how much the Uzumaki takes after his father, and feels a blow to his pride that he’s only putting the pieces together now; his only comfort is that the feeling is mutual with most of the occupants in the room.

“Naruto,” the Sandaime says gently.

A long moment passes before the younger blonde blinks owlishly up at the old man, however, the question the boy asks a moment later makes the Yamanka Head’s heart sink. “Jiji…my head hurts. What happened? Did you see my dreams? Do you know what it means?”

“Naruto, did you meet anyone suspicious before you locked yourself inside your apartment?” The Hokage patiently questions.

“No. I don’t think so. Just the mean villagers. Why?”

The Sandaime, Inoichi, and the rest of the Council grimaces at his words. The villagers have no idea how much wrong they’ve done. _All of them._ Inoichi honestly thinks Konoha should be lucky the boy’s parents aren’t alive right now.

The Hokage shakes his head. “Just asking. I don’t think your dreams will bother you anymore, but if you still have nightmares and can’t sleep well, I’ll have a Medic Nin prescribe some sleeping pills for you.”

“…Who are the blonde man and lady with pretty red hair in my dreams?” Naruto asks in a low voice, but everyone in the room hears it. “Are they real?” When he doesn’t receive an answer he stares questioningly up at the Hokage. “Jiji?”

“I’m sorry Naruto, but you are not ready to know their individual identities.” The Sandaime says gently and looks regretful for saying such. “But, they were your parents.”

Inoichi watches as the boy’s face falls, more tears streaming down his cheeks, and then smiles softly even though his face twists like he’s in pain.

“In my dreams they said love me,” Naruto states hoarsely.

“Yes, they loved you very much, even before you were born, they wanted you just as much.” The Sandaime smiles at the grin that splits the younger blonde’s face.

Then, Naruto buries his face in his hands and cries.

It’s a bittersweet scene to Inoichi. He feels for the kid, he really does. If the Yondaime had lived, he wonders how Naruto’s life would have gone. The boy deserves more than any other child, but he’s the one who receives less and is hated for just existing.

Deep down inside, even if he was ordered to, Inoichi would _never_ let his daughter experience Naruto’s kind of life style.

He can also understand why the Sandaime hadn’t revealed who Naruto’s parents were. It’s bad enough the Villagers curse his existence, no need to line up the enemies his parents had made during the war and throughout their shinobi career. It might lead to another war considering Naruto’s status.

Still, Inoichi has never seen Naruto as the monster sealed inside him, and this is the only time he’s ever met the kid in person; _but never again_ , he won’t stand by and have others treating the kid as they do now. He’s heard the whispers and stories, but this time he won’t brush them off. He’ll squash them and anyone who dares treat a kid— _Minato’s child_ —like that; especially _Kushina’s baby_ , because he remembers that woman was just as frightening as the Yellow Flash, gaining the name Red-Hot Habanero.

After Naruto calms down, the Anbu takes him to his apartment to resume their surveillance over him.

Doesn’t mean the meeting is over, in fact, it’s only just begun.

“How can we be sure that was the Yondaime Inoichi was talking to and not the Kyuubi?” Danzo questions as soon as the Jinchuriki is out of earshot.

“I know the Yondaime’s chakra signature. It was his. And those memories of the Yondaime couldn’t have been faked.” Inoichi stoically replies; a little offended the old war hawk would doubt his skills.

The Sandaime evenly meets the bandaged veteran shinobi’s gaze. “There are many things we don’t know about the seal Minato used, but it’s still highly possible that he’d put his chakra into the seal in case something ever happens. Though, we’ve managed to gain more knowledge of it, I’ll have Inoichi schedule more mind reading sessions to confirm the Kyuubi isn’t influencing Naruto. That should be enough to sate your suspicions for now, I believe?”

Danzo doesn’t look pleased with his reply, but doesn’t comment further either.

Instead, it’s Tsume who barks out, “That boy should by all accounts have the worse luck I’ve ever known. His mother was the Jinchuriki before him, and it was his father who sealed the beast that made his life a living hell inside him. You sure the only reason you aren’t telling him the truth is for his own protection?”

“Tsume,” Hiashi warns.

The Inuzuka Clan Head shrugs carelessly, her canine companion sending her a reproachful look.

“Minato-sama believed it was a rogue Uchiha who attacked the village, and vague assumptions point to his deceased student.” Inoichi states to avoid the oncoming conflict. 

“Hokage-sama, do you think it’s possible to bring Kakashi in for questioning as well?” As always, his friend Shikaku understands his intentions. “Hatake should know more about the death of Uchiha Obito, and I think we should also include the death of his female teammate as well. If I remember correctly, the Mist made her into a Jinchuriki to destroy our village from the inside. If we’re doing this, then we need to thoroughly go over each and every detail.”

The Hokage nods. “Agreed. We should continue this meeting in the Council Room. Come.”

They disperse, quickly making their way there, all preoccupied of a new and old threat to their village, some more than others.

*********

Meanwhile, Naruto sinks into his mindscape once he’s in the safe confines of his shabby apartment.

He stands before the sealed gate, wishing he can just rip it apart so he can always feel Kurama’s presence without personally coming there to feel it. He doesn’t like the giant Furball behind bars; it’s horrible enough the Bijuu was sealed away for three generations. (Naruto idly wonders if this new chance is a fourth, and it’s his fault for sealing Kurama this time.)

_**Are you ready Kit?** _

Naruto stares past the bars to see eyes that’s seen too much of things, and not enough of others. _No._ He replies honestly. It’s useless to lie to the fox who can feel his emotions that have always been strong and unwavering, or _used_ to be. _I’m not, but if I remain still too long I’ll begin to feel how I felt when I couldn’t move right before I died. How—_

A harsh scoff snaps him out of his trail of thoughts. _**Do you have a plan Kit?**_

He does. One that’ll take time, but he does. He’s already given the Uchiha Clan another path instead of a Coup and from being massacred. Now it’s up to them. Which is mostly thanks to Naruto ranting off in his mindscape hoping his father’s chakra imprint sealed inside him would help him.

He doesn’t want to think of the still possible outcome of the massacre and Sasuke going rogue.

To prevent the extinction of the Uchiha CLan, Naruto has come up with a fallback that is both brilliant and suicidal. And when he tells the fox, Kurama can only groan because he already set his mind to it. It’s not a healthy way to cope, but it doesn’t let his mind wander his past.

In preparation of his plan, he buys supplies and equipment needed for it when he leaves his apartment for his Therapy Sessions—Naruto has no idea why they’d make him go through that when it’s just Inoichi going through his mind—for the next couple of weeks, making henged clones in his Guards’ blind spots to do it.

It’s through his clones that he hears the whispers spreading throughout the village of a rogue Uchiha set on destroying the Clan that betrayed him and the village he hated; murmurs of the Uchiha Police Force offering openings for those who wish to help protect their village and hunt down the person responsible for the attack four years ago costing the lives of hundreds and their beloved Yondaime. At first, most were skeptical, until the major Clans, even the enemy rivals of the Uchiha’s—the Hyuuga’s, allowed their own to join the Police Force ranks.

Naruto could see it in all the Uchihas that passed his disguised clones after they dispersed. They’re angry and out for blood of the person who dared to soil their reputation and has caused them so much trouble.

He thinks of Obito, and he feels terrible for letting the manipulated Uchiha take the fall, but there was no other way, and Obito also needed to be served justice because he gave up and gave in to the enemy. Naruto isn’t sure he can save Obito from himself this time when he himself is struggling to not fall apart and give up and give in to hopelessness.

Perhaps, that’s why he’s thankful for the month of leave from attending the Academy, taking full advantage of it by stocking up on weapons, scrolls, and the materials for seals; he’s also able to witness the Uchihas opening up to the village, if only this one time by coming together to hunt down a powerful enemy they share.

But Naruto still needs to make sure the Coup isn’t going to happen, or at least not happen any time soon.

Sasuke deserves better, and Naruto will make sure this Uchiha Sasuke will never have to go through what he did in Naruto’s past. That is, if he can overcome the PTSD that's continuously worsening his condition.

So he busies himself mostly, fighting off the panic attacks that frequent him the times he’s left doing nothing but thinking.

Just like that, doing those simple things, a month passes by, but Naruto continues to make clones after the others disperse, to keep his mind away from his darker thoughts, even going as far as sealing his apartment off and training his younger body in chakra control and gain some muscles.

His expiration of leave for school comes to an end too, forcing him to go back to the Academy after recently failing the graduation test the first time. 

He’s stomped to see familiar, yet unfamiliar faces. He never did get along with his classes the first two times he failed the graduation tests.

They don’t even acknowledge his existence when he appears, acting like he never left and ignoring him all the same. It hurts, but what else had he expected?

The cold eyes from the chuunin teacher who spots him immdiately reminds him of onyx eyes and a young man declaring to be a different kind of Hokage—

Abruptly, Naruto breaks eye contact to stare out the window at the clouds lazily drifting in the sky. 

The day goes slow, and the days after too. He doesn’t really participate much with his class, and when it requires interaction with the others, Naruto makes sure he misses those days. He’s angry at them for being so ignorant; angry at Obito for losing himself; and angry at his self the most for being the Hero of the village and dying as the loser that he is. There’s too much pent up anger in him that Naruto is afraid he’ll burst and not only hurt himself, but those around him.

The more he tries to move forward, pass the angst and sting of failure, the worse the feeling gets, and he’s stomped as much as Kurama is for the reason _why_. He's definitely trying.

So he continues to endure, willing himself to keep going even if he’s in pain, because there are people he cares about and need to save. He has responsibilities, and he’s not going to fail— _not this time_.


	6. Chapter Six (Unedited)

There’s a reason Naruto avoided staying out of his apartment any longer than necessary, hell, even when he sent his clones out to do their jobs he made sure they steered clear from coming face to face with any of his precious people.

He didn’t know why the day he decided to get out of his suffocating apartment for some fresh air did his feet carry him to the crowded playground of all places. From outside the fence in his spot Naruto was able to quickly find _them_. His friends.

There in one corner under the trees were the relaxing duo, Chibi-Shikamaru and Chibi-Chouji.

Behind the bush just a few yards from the relaxing duo was Chibi-Shino with an older boy from his clan.

Chibi-Kiba can be seen running around with a bunch of kids, shouting louder than the combined chatter of all the children.

In the sandbox he sees Chibi-Ino laughing with a group of girls he’s never seen before.

There’s no sign of Hinata and Neji.

_Neji…hole_ _**blooddeadblood—** _

And then he sees _her_ , beautiful pink hair on par with her name standing out in the middle of the crowd blushing shyly surrounded by a group of girls who are conversing excitedly over something.

His mind automatically blanks.

Chibi-Sakura looks _nothing_ like the Sakura-chan from his past. His once puppy-love-turn-reliable-teammate-and-sister is nowhere in sight, but in her place is a little civilian girl who is trying to fit in, to not be left out—something that somehow is still _his_ Sakura-chan, yet not.

And it hurts him because Chibi-Sakura _is_ his Sakura, and yet she isn’t.

Naruto rips his eyes away from all of them, pain gripping his heart at the familiar and unfamiliar people.

Their innocent laughter and joyous chatter feel like sharp claws crawling up his limbs and trying to drag him down into an abyss.

The hot sun is like fire burning the air and turning his world to ash—burning him to ash.

“Kyaaa!”

His eyes instinctively flicker up when he hears a little girl’s scream, the sound reminding him so much of Sakura-chan’s when—

Random children piled on top of one of another meets his eyes, the scattered bodies of his Chibi-friends lying lifeless atop the pyramid of kids, face down, with a river of blood spreading out on the ground in all directions forming an endless sea of red.

A pit of fire rages high into the sky all around, the winds howling fiercely and sending ashes to the sky only for it to fall back down as if it’s raining black snow.

_**…ru…!** _

His breath catches in his throat when he spots the glares of the villagers in the burning flame, icy and cold like they’ve always been during his birthdays on the day of the Kyuubi Festival.

He wants to run, cry, hide—anything to get away. Far, far away from this godawful place.

Those cold glares only seem to add oil to the fire because then the red flames erupt suddenly, spinning in the air and catching the ashes. Naruto already knows what it’s going to form before it even takes shape.

_**…to…!** _

That accursed red eye hangs ominously up in the sky looking for the world as if that’s where it rightfully belonged. It spins mockingly down at him, and though he knows he should look away, he can’t tear his eyes from it. It’s better than seeing the dead bodies of his friends.

_**Nar…!** _

Faintly he can hear whips of an unrecognizable voice carried off into the breeze before he comprehends any of it.

Not that it matters—not when in the sky he sees red, black, and _white_.

Not when he sees Kaguya floating down towards him with a sad look in her eyes and tears streaming down her pale white cheeks. It makes his heart ache in sympathy, while at the same time he feels the urge to rip her apart rising as the distance closes between them. Before he’s figured out which of the two he prefers, soft white hands cradle his cheeks tenderly, and he’s forced to stare at the resigned, but determined face of his enemy, someone he honestly would rather never want to see ever again in his life.

Then, she opens her mouth to call out his n—

_**NARUTO!** _

And the tears are the first to shatter, followed by Kaguya and everything else.

Naruto gasps, body jerking up to sit, his sweaty palms grasping his aching chest and throbbing head.

A choked sob escapes his chapped lips and he begins crying hysterically. He cries, and cries, and cries. He doesn’t care who sees him, who hears him at the moment, because in the end he’s alone.

Alone.

Nobody comes to comfort him.

There’s no Kaka-sensei to stand beside him in companionable comfort, no Sakura-chan to bop him on the head and hug him for both their reassurance of the other, no Shikamaru shadowing him to bluntly smack common sense back into him, and no Iruka-sensei to hug him and let him use a shoulder to cry on.

He’s all alone, and no matter what Kurama says, the blonde feels so lost, so alone in a world that’s his but not, in a world so much like his but isn’t.

So he cries at the unfairness of the world, cries at the cruel reality that everything he’s fought for will never come to fruit, cries for the time with his precious people lost in the past that he isn’t even sure is his future anymore.

Naruto never should have been the one sent here, not after what he did and didn’t do.

He pulls on the strands of his hair, eyes wide, but unseeing, because if he closes them he’ll see everything he doesn’t want to. His sobs never once stops, but grows louder, more desperate, something he never allowed his younger self to indulge himself to do, but now. Now he cries—he _mourns_ , and let’s himself fall apart, even if he knows there’s no one there to pick up the pieces.

He doesn’t know how long it takes him to calm down, but his sobs eventually die out into broken whimpers, his arms lying limp by his sides, and eyes painfully closed shut. His body tilts sideways, and he’s once again lost to the world, oblivious to the audience who had been watching him the entire time, trying to talk to him, comfort him.

Even the fox inside him who’s grumbling and cursing at being ignored, yet worried what this could mean.

*********

The search for the Masked Uchiha that attacked Konoha a little over five years ago had taken up most of Hiruzen’s time.

The shinobi Clans had been the first to prepare to go against this enemy of theirs.

The thought of an Uchiha with the ability to teleport anywhere in the village had led to a big argument inside the Uchiha Clan. None of the Uchihas were happy to hear the news, but at the same time they knew an enemy who was strong enough to fight with the Yondaime is no one to snooze at either. However, when they found out the possible suspect was the black sheep of their clan—the _Yondaime’s_ deceased student—shit hit the fan. Many sides were form, demands and furious claims exchanged, until the Clan Head put his foot down.

Hiruzen knows the only reason Fugaku stood up and did something was because of what Minato said about him and his clan.

The two became friends during the third war, to the point Fugaku even allowed Minato and Kushina to be the Godparents of their first born. It was supposed to bring the village and the Uchiha Clan together. Sadly, that knowledge of their relationship was overshadowed by the Kyuubi Attack.

But, back to his point, Fugaku had been devastated at the loss of one of his closest friends outside his clan, probably his only. His wife had grieved for her best friend as well. Added to the rumors of the Uchihas after the attack, Fugaku was weighed down and had to work under the worse of circumstances for his clan and village. And then there was the problem of how he and his wife couldn’t adopt their friends’ newborn because the Council didn’t want any Uchiha near the Kyuubi Jinchuriki.

Now, however, he can see it. Hiruzen can see that spark of the Will of Fire coming back to Fugaku. For a long while he hadn’t seen it, not in any of the Uchihas, except the clan’s heir.

To say he had been surprised when Fugaku came to him and asked if it was possible to temporary recruit outsiders of his clan for the Police Force is an understatement, it nearly given him a heart attack. He did approve of it however. It was a start. The other clans sent those who were either retired shinobi and trained in the shinobi arts but not registered as one to the Uchiha Police Force to lend a helping hand. Hiruzen isn’t stupid not to know there are Uchihas who aren’t happy with this setup, but these days Fugaku looks like he isn’t going to take any bullshit. He was close with Minato, and his wife closer to the Yondaime’s wife, Fugaku wants justice and revenge on the person who had taken them away, and nobody seems to have enough guts to get in the way of it.

There’s that, and then there was the situation of how in less than a week word spread of what happened in the Council. The civilians and the rest of the shinobi force were also in the know, and the once peaceful village has now taken up arms.

Hiruzen was left with no choice but to make a public announcement about it in order to quell the people’s fears.

He already told those on the Council the identity of Naruto’s parents was an S-Class secret they absolutely cannot share, less Kumo or Iwa do something that’ll bring about the Fourth Shinobi War, and that nothing of the Fourth’s seal be shared; but, he had allowed the information of the possible identity of the Masked Uchiha who controlled the Kyuubi who set it loose on Konoha to be known, as well as Uchiha Itachi’s relationship to the late Yondaime.

Still, he reminded everyone about the unofficial law of speaking about Naruto’s status as the Kyuubi Jinchuriki.

As for Naruto, everybody on the Council demanded his Anbu Guards be multiplied, and he agreed to it. Luckily for him, ever since they went into his mind, Naruto had stayed clear from the public. The civilians had gathered a mob to get rid of the child; the Anbu guards didn’t let them get close to the boy.

Hiruzen was forced to take a stand against them, because though they are his responsibility to protect, they do not have the right to disobey his orders, because no matter what they say or feel, Konoha is a Shinobi Village and he’s their leader.

Danzo of course had been a headache that has been pestering that the boy be taken under his wing to be a weapon for the village. Hiruzen shut him up by telling the old War Hawk that even if they train Naruto should he once look the enemy in the eye he’d be under the bastard’s control. That led Hiruzen to also arguing with the Council that Naruto will be taken under an Uchiha’s wing to learn about the Sharigan and be able to fight against it. Luck must be on his side, because he won that argument.

For two whole months the village had begun upping their security, no more dilly dallying, Konoha will not survive another attack like the Kyuubi Attack, which is still recent to those who remember, so motivation wasn’t that hard to spark.

There’s still much more to be done, but even Hiruzen isn’t Kami. He can only do so much at his age, which explains why he’s now looking for another successor, and so far, the prodigy of the Uchiha Clan who is climbing the ranks at such a young age is the only one he has in mind. He just wonders if he’ll remain strong enough until the boy is old enough to take the Hat from him. Speaking of the Uchiha Heir…

“Do you accept Itachi?” Hiruzen stares impassively at the young boy donned in Anbu clothing with a Crow Mask in one hand standing before him.

Uchiha Itachi, Heir to his clan, nods. “Yes Hokage-sama.”

“Then you will begin training Naruto in two days. You can only command those from your squad that’s guarding Naruto, and have them help you train him how you see fit. This is a huge responsibility Itachi. Not only are you to train him, you must make sure the Will of Fire burns brightly in him, teach him, care for him, and nurture him. This may be a mission, but I grant you permission to have a relationship with him other than student and teacher one. He is your Godbrother after all, and he needs bonds in the village, or the villagers’ hatred will get to him. You will be the one to keep him grounded. You will be his caretaker.”

Hiruzen studies the young boy, and doesn’t know whether to sigh or smile at the professional blank expression in the face of such a unique mission.

“Shadow Naruto today so you’ll know what you’ll be dealing with until I introduce you to him. You’re dis—“

A flicker, then Anbu Bat appears beside Itachi in a kneeling position, head bowed. Hiruzen frowns at the interruption. Bat’s interruption in such a meeting means something happened to Naruto.

“Speak.” Hiruzen orders. This is the first time in weeks since any of Naruto’s guards reported something urgent.

“Uzumaki Naruto went outside today. We protected him, but when he went to the playground he had another breakdown and caused a commotion. Rat brought him to the hospital,” Bat’s monotone voice replies.

Hiruzen sighs. “What happened?”

“Nothing had happened Hokage-sama. He just stared at the other kids and began screaming until Rat knocked him out.”

After massaging the bridge of his nose, Hiruzen stands and motions for both Bat and Itachi to follow him.

Itachi puts back on his mask and they quickly make their way to the hospital.

Hiruzen’s heart breaks when he enters the unconscious boy’s room as the two Anbu melt into the shadows.

Naruto looks better and yet worse at the same time than he did two months ago.

He’s beginning to worry about the child’s sanity, and if nothing changes, Naruto may very much lose himself, and he’ll lose the boy. So what’s wrong? _Why is Naruto having this breakdown this time? Is it the Kyuubi? Did something go wrong with the seal when Inoichi went inside the boy’s mind?_ There are so many possibilities, but none of which are solid enough evidence.

His eyes flicker to the heart monitor when the beeping sound picks up, and fast too. Naruto’s body twitches before the blonde sits up and begins breathing hard with a hand cradling his head and his other one clutching his chest.

“Naruto?” Hiruzen calls softly.

The boy doesn’t answer and instead cries, and Hiruzen...he's never seen such a broken soul and can’t help but feel like he’s already lost the boy.

Still, he calls out to the blonde, moves forward to hold him, only to freeze.

Dense, blue chakra swirls around the boy, cocooning him.

Hiruzen can only gape at the sight because it’s Naruto’s own chakra, and the boy is releasing huge suicidal amounts and no one can get close to stop him without getting burned or severely injured.

For almost five long minutes Hiruzen watches Naruto cry himself hoarse and into unconsciousness.

Hiruzen glances to Rat’s direction, eyes hard, “Take Naruto to the Anbu Holding Quarters. He’ll be a danger to the Medic Nins here if he reacts like that the next time he wakes up. All of you will guard him from outside the room. Crow’s Team and Bat stay for a second.”

Rat appears beside the unconscious boy and carefully carries Naruto and disappears. The several Anbu guarding the boy follow as well. 

Hiruzen holds back a weary sigh as he turns to Itachi and his team who remained. “You will start right away instead Itachi. I’m afraid Naruto will need someone always by his side for support and I do not have time for him. I’ll introduce you to him the next time he wakes up; and Bat, have someone draw chakra suppression seals on him to avoid this from happening again. Now all of you go watch over him.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” they say before disappearing.

There’s only so much Hiruzen can do, but for some reason, he feels like even with how much he’s doing isn't enough.

He ignores the firm voice in his mind that sounds awfully like his late sensei saying it’s never enough.


	7. Chapter Seven (Unedited)

Naruto wakes up to a small room covered in the color white. The bed he's on is white with white sheets; and, he's dressed in a pair of white T-shirt and pants. There’s also a white door and a large black glass window that stands out against the white walls inside the box-shaped room. 

The colors send a shiver of fear down his spine, spreading goosebumps throughout his body for reasons he doesn't understand.

His sluggish mind tries to think of where he’s at and why, but comes up blank.

He pushes himself to sit up and hangs his legs off the side of the bed, dazedly staring at his reflection. Dark circles are noticeable under his eyes; his tan skin paler despite the blackness of the glass window; his eyes, however, latches onto the dark swirls on his arms in his reflection. He brings his arms up to examine the black ink drawn across his skin with a dull ache resonating somewhere deep in him.

There’s a gut feeling churning inside him that he knows what those seals are, but he doesn’t remember. In fact, he doesn’t really remember much.

He feels like he hasn’t been lighter in days, but the more he surveys the tiny room, he feels like the walls are closing in on him. He cradles his head, something deep in him beginning to stir uncomfortably. Like it’s demanding something, wanting him, _calling_ him.

“Naruto.”

Naruto jumps at the sudden voice, eyes instantly looking up to stare at the face of…

And again, he feels lost, his breath escaping his grasp at the sight of a deadman.

The Sandaime must have noticed because the old man takes a few steps back.

Naruto _sees_ him, but is unable to feel him. He can’t sense his chakra. _Does this mean everything really was a horrible dream?_ That all of those things he’s done, couldn’t do, and wished to do were false? Or is it now, right at this moment? There’s no warmth he felt in his dream coming from the old man like from his mind, no smile that he missed, and this Sandaime may not be giving him the cold glare, but the old man also doesn’t seem to want to approach him.

He nearly breaks out into a sobbing mess again as he cradles his head, mind countering of what’s real and what’s not, and giving him a horrible migraine.

“Naruto, please,” the Hokage pleads. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

There’s something foreboding about the desperation in the old man’s voice, but Naruto just stares up at him as if he’s seeing a ghost.

Tears well up in Naruto’s eyes and his fists fall to his pants and clenches the fabric. It takes a few moments to even his breathing as he stares searchingly at the old man, eyes unabashedly roaming over the first person to care for the blonde’s well-being, and then in a low whisper that gives away the fear he feels, he asks, “Is this real Jiji?”

He’s not entirely sure what he’s asking of what’s real, but it’s the only thing he can think about.

His memories and those terrifying nightmares his mind conjured up leave him questioning which actually happened in his past. If he’s in one of those nightmares, or worse, is under the Infinite Tsukoyomi. 

He feels like he’s losing his mind.

The Sandaime sighs, and slowly steps towards the blonde. He grabs Naruto’s hand and squeezes it painfully making the blonde wince. “Can you feel that pain Naruto? You are not dreaming. I’m _real_ , Naruto.”

Naruto stares at the wrinkled hand holding his in a vice grip. He can feel the heat coming from it now. Hesitantly, he holds the old man’s hand in both of his, feeling the heat radiating from the old man. He lets his hands wonder up the arm and to the chest until his fingertips touch a wrinkled cheek that’s warm, with that oh-so-small smile he’s missed.

“You’re real,” Naruto breathes, “You’re _real_. Jiji…” He jumps off the bed to wrap his arms tight around the old man’s neck, enjoying the way warm arms that automatically wrap around him in response. “ _You’re real_ ,” he whimpers into the old man’s shoulder.

Inside he’s beginning to feel Kurama’s chakra trying to comfort him underneath the chakra suppressing seals. He closes his eyes and _remembers_. A low, humorless laugh escapes from him. He broke down because he saw his friends and began to freak out to the point of actually questioning reality. _Did I actually jinx myself again? Has my luck and sanity finally run out?_

 _I’m sorry Kurama._ He apologies to the fox for letting himself succumb to his dark thoughts. _It won't happen again._

Kurama growls in reply through their mind-link, but doesn’t retract his soothing chakra.

A gentle hand runs through his yellow locks, and Naruto relaxes his hold, head resting snugly against the old man who decides to sit on the bed and allows him to sit on his lap.

“Naruto…what were you dreaming about?” The Sandaime asks.

Naruto’s mind flashes back to Orochimaru’s invasion, Pein’s destruction of Konoha, the Akatsuki, the Fourth Shinobi War, the **deathsandsacrifices** —Naruto’s arms tighten around the old man. He shakes his head vigorously. It’s better if nobody knows what he’s been through, they wouldn’t even understand.

He feels horrible for thinking he’s alone when he has Kurama. He’ll have to make it up to the Furball for that.

The Sandaime sighs. “Naruto, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

Naruto shakes his head again, _really_ not wanting to speak about it.

“Fine, but you leave me no choice,” the old man concedes. “I’m afraid I can no longer leave you alone. Someone will be taking care of you, and start you on your training and schooling. If you can’t talk to me, then at least talk to him, okay?”

Naruto feels a presence enter the room then, and he tries to remember where he’s felt this gentle warm hum and dangerous chakra signature from his past. He feels like he knows who it belongs to, but can’t place the many faces he remembers with it.

His head turns towards the person supposedly in charge of him (and that didn’t happen in his past, he would have remembered something this shocking then) and his swollen eyes goes wide as he stares in horror at Uchiha Itachi staring impassively at him in return.

_What?! He’s the one who is going to be my sensei?! What happened to Kaka-sensei?! More importantly that’s Uchiha Itachi! There’s no way I can do anything if someone like him is watching me up close!_

“Naruto, meet Uchiha Itachi, he will be living with you in your apartment and help take care of you as he trains you,” the Sandaime adds more to the blonde’s utter horror.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Naruto-kun—“ Naruto shudders at the familiar voice saying his name “—I look forward to working with you.”

Naruto turns to the Hokage, eyes pleading. “No,” he croaks out, “not him.”

The Sandaime raises an eyebrow, “Oh? And why not if I may ask?”

Naruto swallows the words he was about to blurt out, and bites his lips when he feels those charcoal eyes boring into his back.

He doesn’t hate Itachi, nor does he necessarily like him because of what he put Sasuke through despite only wanting to protect his brother. It’s just he’s heard how Itachi was an absolute genius, one Shikaku even acknowledged to be on par with some of their best Naras. That, and the prodigy resembles Sasuke, and he doesn’t want to see the Teme’s face every day. He’s pretty sure that’s the fastest way to make him lose his mind.

Naruto glances over to the Uchiha Heir and meets those Sharinganless eyes. It feels unnatural not to see him with his Sharigan activated, but what Narutuo notices more is that those charcoal eyes aren’t cold. However, there is something swimming in Itachi’s eyes that make any words of protests die in his throat. He slumps in defeat and turns away with a scowl.

He can feel Kurama cursing at their new predicament, and Naruto can’t help but blame himself.

“I’m sure you and Itachi will get along just fine Naruto,” the Sandaime says reassuringly. Naruto doesn’t feel reassured. “I have to go now so why don’t the two of you get to know each other?”

_I know Itachi would slaughter his clan to protect his precious little brother and the village. That even if he’s scary strong, he’s one of the greatest shinobi I actually respect and look up to._

_Like I’ll ever say any of that out loud!_

Before he can register the second part of what the old man said, the Sandaime vacates the room and Naruto finds himself sitting helplessly on the bed staring at Itachi.

He remembers the first time he met Itachi, the second time three years later, and the third time, and the fourth. In all of his meetings with the Uchiha, Itachi has been someone he could never reach. And he doesn’t know if this Uchiha Itachi is the same as the one from his past.

Who knows what he’s changed already?

Itachi moves and Naruto’s eyes follow him like a hawk, his body tensing, ready to flee if necessary. The Uchiha dares to walk by him to the small table at the head of the bed where a pitcher is and pours water into the glass cup beside it. He offers it to the blonde who avoids any eye contact, instead staring at his reflection from the glass cup being held out in front of his face.

“It’ll help with your sore throat,” Itachi states as if Naruto didn’t know that already.

Reluctantly, Naruto takes it and gulps it down, enjoying how the cool liquid slides down his throat.

Like the water from the Valley of The End that sprayed in the air every time his and Sasuke’s fists met, how it splashed on his skin and slid down, down, down, and Sasuke’s cold blood pooling—

Naruto chokes on the water, and begins coughing, hands reflexively crushing the glass and then blood spreads— _bloodblood_ **Sasuke’sblood** somuchblood—

Warm arms wrap around him, startling him back to reality as he looks straight ahead to the black glass window to see the back of Itachi who’s hugging him.

Itachi pulls away after a long moment, those black abyss so much like the Teme’s, but so different, staring normally at him.

A warm, pale hand wipes away his tears, his eyes follow them as they move to his hands and gently begins picking out the broken shards and placing it on the small table. Once the glasses are out, Naruto can only watch with wide eyes as green chakra emits from the Uchiha’s hand and begins healing him.

When Itachi’s done, Naruto brings his hands up to stare at them. He can see the blisters and callouses he had in the past blurring away to reveal soft palms and fingers. He looks up at the Uchiha watching him and he doesn’t see an Uchiha, nor Sasuke, but _Itachi_. He just sees Itachi.

Two fingers tap his forehead, snapping him out of his trance and having him blinking dumbly as he cradles the sore spot.

“W-What was that for?” Naruto stutters out.

Itachi is blinking at him with slightly widen eyes, “I—You were zoning out.” He frowns. “And don’t do that again Naruto-kun.”

Naruto looks away, fists clenching, hoping to forget what he was thinking a few seconds ago. “Can I go back to my apartment? I hate the color white.”

“…If that’s what you want Naruto-kun. Can you stand, or do you need me to carry you?”

A blush crawls up the blonde’s face. Naruto scowls at the Uchiha and jumps off the bed, stumbling slightly but still able to stand without the other’s help. “I’m not weak.”

“I never said you were,” Itachi replies.

Naruto glares up at the Uchiha. “I’m going to make your life a living a hell, Itachi.” And he really will, because it was this Uchiha who told him he can’t do everything himself. Naruto was planning on finding Itachi and that good cousin of his later to help him with the Uchiha Coup, even share his memory. In a way this situation is a blessing and a curse for him.

Something must have shown some truth in his words in his expression, because the Uchiha’s eyes narrow in challenge.

Naruto turns and walks to the door ignoring the fact that he’s barefoot. He glances over his shoulder to meet charcoal eyes studying him, and feels Kurama stir inside him, a nasty smirk marring the Bijuu’s face as Naruto tells the Uchiha, “Don’t think I don’t know what the old man is trying to do. I’m not going to be the hero of the village nor will I die a loser.”

Itachi frowns and the blonde looks away.

 _Not this time_ , Naruto vows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if Itachi is out of character, but he's a shinobi on a mission to earn the trust of a little boy, if you hadn't understood Hiruzen during his explanation.


	8. Chapter Eight (Unedited)

In the end, Naruto had to be carried to his apartment since a mob of people were waiting for him outside in the streets of Konoha, their glares worse than the last time he’s seen them, sneers everywhere as soft mutters of his desired death reaches his advanced hearing.

It didn’t look safe for him to walk the streets.

However, home was hardly any better. Now inside the safety of his apartment, he felt out of place thanks to his new roommate. It was barely big enough for one person, let alone a child, and now a growing teenager? Naruto will never get his privacy now that Itachi is here.

So Naruto crawled onto his bed, sulking; while the Uchiha leaned against the wall staring expectantly at him.

“Stop staring,” the blonde snaps, “Before I poke your eyes.”

Itachi raises an amused eyebrow, further angering the blonde.

“Stop looking at me!” Naruto hisses out and feels himself relaxing when the Uchiha’s eyes finally leave him, only to tense when they flicker back to him.

“What! What do you want damnit?!” He growls.

Itachi sighs, eyes glancing around his messy room once before staring at him with a familiar blankness. “I think we should at least get to know each other since we'll be living together. For starters, my name is Uchiha Itachi, as you know. My hobbies include training and learning new jutsus. My likes are training my little brother and eating my mom’s cooking and dango. My dislikes are traitors and anyone who threatens my village and family. My dream is to find peace.”

Naruto stares incredulously at him for moment, but looks away when the Uchiha’s eyes turn expectant again. _Peace? Itachi’s dream is to find peace? … I actually believe him…_

“Your turn Naruto-kun.”

Frowning, Naruto stares at the table next to his bed at the spot where Team Seven’s photo should have been. He remembers how he introduced himself, how long ago it was, and yet far away it is.

Kaka-sensei would disapprove of him completely shutting Itachi out – the one that hadn’t slaughtered his kin ( _yet?_ ).

“…My name is Uzumaki Naruto. My hobbies…” _I don’t have any hobbies since I haven’t pranked anyone in a while._

“My likes are…” _I can’t look at ramen without throwing up... Iruka-sensei despises me right now. I no longer have a crush on Sakura-chan and I doubt I will this time either..._

“My dislikes are…” Like a switch, his uncertainty vanishes as anger and hatred bubbles forth suddenly. _Kaguya, Black Zetsu and Madara... The way the villagers treat me... Those who hurt my precious people... That I killed Sasuke on my birthday and the Anniversary of my parents’ death... That I became a Hero and Loser!_ He snarls, glaring down at his clenched fists. “I hate—” _I hate the unnecessary bloodshed and sacrifices. Despises fools._

Naruto continues to stow in his bubble of hatred, anger easily falling within his reach, and—

"Your dream?" 

The question somehow makes it through his muddled mind, surprising him enough to falter and having his negative emotions dissipating. "W-What?" 

"What's your dream?" 

For a moment, Naruto had thought the Uchiha asked if all the bloodshed and sacrifices were his dream. "My dream?" He frowns, inwardly collecting himself. "My dream... My dream is to…” Here his wide eyes meet the Uchiha’s and feels the weight of what he wants hitting him like a ton of bricks. He still answers, voice hoarse as he realizes what he really wants now, “....Find peace.” _To find peace in this cruel, heartless world. And in myself._

“…Then, don’t you think we should work together to fulfill our dream?” Itachi rises and stands in front of the blonde with a hand out. “I’m not easy to get rid of Naruto-kun.”

Even if it’s coming from thirteen year old Itachi, Naruto still doesn’t doubt him.

“Together?” Naruto says softly, remembering the Itachi of the future who told him he can’t do things by himself. He takes the hand into his own and squeezes tight, a humorless smile on his face. “It’s not about getting rid of you; it’s when you decide to leave me.”

“Why would I?” Itachi tilts his head in a curious manner.

“Why would you stay?” Naruto lets go of the hand as if it burns him. “You’re only here because Jiji order you to!” He folds more into himself as he hides his face inside his arms and legs. Of course that’s not why he’s upset, but that was the only response he could give away to answer the Uchiha’s question.

“I am,” Itachi admits. “But I also want to be here.”

“What? Why?” Naruto is actually surprised at the Uchiha’s confession. They don't even know each other; even in the future their relationship was mostly as enemies .

“Because you’ll fall into that darkness eating you from the inside; and, what’s wrong with me wanting to be your friend?” The sincerity in the Uchiha’s voice feels like stab wounds to the heart in the blonde.

Naruto was about to retort when Kurama interrupted.

_**"Gaara"** _

Which only makes him want to curl more into himself. “I don’t deserve to be your friend,” he says honestly. _Not yours, not after I broke my promise and failed you. You’ll hate me when I tell you the truth._

“Isn’t that for me to decide?”

_I killed your little brother._

“One day you will,” Naruto firmly states the simple truth, truly believing so.

Itachi doesn’t reply to that and says instead, “Today you can rest, but tomorrow we will begin your studies.” He heads to the front door, his voice carrying behind him, “I’ll bring my things tomorrow as well.

Naruto watches him go, feeling much like an asshole to Itachi. Or maybe it's because it's _him_. But he’s pissed. Earlier Itachi had explained that the chakra suppressing seals were so he wouldn’t hurt anyone, and that it’ll remain there until he has advanced far enough in his studies, or when ordered to take them off. He scowls. _What a pain._

He falls back onto his bed and turns to the wall, impatiently waiting for sleep to come and give him a break from all of this time-traveling bullshit. _Please be no nightmares tonight. I’m really tired and want to sleep._

He should have known by now that that’s too much to ask.

_He dreams of floating at the bottom of the waterfall at the Valley of The End and staring up at a cloudless blue sky, the tranquility of the place engulfing him bringing him peace he wishes to bathe in forever._

_Them, seemingly out of nowhere, ripples in the water collide against him, instantly catching his attention, but he doesn’t face the source of it, instinctively knowing who it is._

_A smooth, melodic voice echoes softly in his ears. “I can make you forget your pain, let you live in a better world. Don’t you want your precious people back? So no one dies in the war? For you not to kill the person you consider a brother? To have the nightmares go away?”_

_Kaguya enters his field of vision and stares down at him with that same sad look in her eyes, tears streaming down pale cheeks. “I can help you escape this nightmare.”_

_Her tears fall onto the sides of his eyes, feeling more his own than hers._

_Naruto actually considers her offer, dread and hope building inside him as the tantalizing temptation gripping his chest in a firm hold increases the dull ache in his being to what it felt like when he saw his arm go through his former teammate’s chest._

_For a long moment the two stare at each other, the tension swirling along with the invisible breeze that gently sways their hair._

_He finds himself asking, “How?”_

_Kaguya smiles softly, and he feels the shivers of fear when, for a fleeting second, a shadow behind her flickers and grins forebodingly, but it disappears just as quickly. Yet the feeling of fear doesn’t leave him. “You know how already: The Infinite Tsukiyomi.”_

_Naruto’s eyes widen and he blinks, confusion spinning his mind painfully, vaguely wondering why it seems like he’s forgetting something about this so called ‘Infinite Tsukiyomi’. “What is it?”_

_“You’re salvation,” Kaguya’s hand reaches down to wipe his tears away._

_The scenery flickers for a moment and Naruto sees Kaguya crying still, can feel something cold clenching around his neck and restraining him. Then it’s gone in a blink of an eye. Kaguya cradles his cheeks and leans forward, the shadow behind her returning and looming over both of them._

_He cries out in warning, but she continues to move closer, bringing with her the darkness that crawls down her arms and reaches for his face, sealing his protests and will._

Naruto _screams._

“Naruto-kun!”

A hard shake jolts him awake and he lunges forward, instincts firmly ingrained in his mind—a fist aimed straight to his attacker. His fist gets caught, but he brings up his leg and knees the bastard in the face—that too easily gets block, and then he finds himself face-down on his bed, arms and legs restrained from a heavy weight.

He squirms, fear clawing at his chest, while stubbornly trying to break free. “Get away from me! Don’t touch me! No more! No more!” The heavy weight reminds him of the dark shadow in his dream looming over him, causing a panicked sob to escape him, air escaping his grasps. “ _Please!_ ”

The weight leaves him immediately, and Naruto _breathes_. His nightmare coming back to him, and he faces down into his bed, feeling pathetic that he’d actually consider Kaguya’s offer of sending the world to its doom.

“Naruto-kun?”

_Why would I even think about agreeing to Kaguya's plan to enslave humanity? I wouldn't!_

_"Naruto-kun."_

Naruto jumps at the unexpected voice, body automatically setting into a sorry-excuse offensive stance. He glares coldly at the intruder.

Itachi raises an eyebrow, hands up in a surrender gesture.

Naruto relaxes at the sight of him, wincing slightly at the sudden aches in parts of his body from reflexively using muscles never having been trained. “What are you doing here?” His voice is hoarse, nothing new, not if he was crying out in his sleep from a nightmare again, but his eyes remain guarded.

“I’m moving in, remember?” Itachi motions to a few boxes at his bedroom door’s entrance. “It sounded like you were having a nightmare.”

“No, I don’t remember,” Naruto scowls, he can feel a headache coming on and he wants nothing more than to crawl into his bed and drown out the world. “Jiji gave me this apartment for me to live by myself. And that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“Hokage-sama told you yesterday Naruto-kun,” the corners of the Uchiha’s lips tilt downward.

“Jiji? What are you talking about? Jiji is dea—“ Naruto bites his tongue, eyes going wide. His memory of yesterday is blurry, but he remembers bits of pieces of it. He closes his eyes, his head throbbing painfully, and takes a deep breath. _Shit. I thought he was a ghost. What the hell is wrong me?_ His eyes open and he’s greeted to the sight of a very much alive Uchiha Itachi. “I, I remember.”

Naruto then collapses on his bed, absentmindedly staring down at the ground. _Why did I forget in the first place?_


	9. Chapter Nine (Unedited)

_Is there something wrong with me? _Naruto isn’t that stupid to not notice he keeps forgetting things and breaking down far too often than he likes.__

____

____

“…Naruto-kun is there anything you want for breakfast?” Itachi moves towards the kitchen, pausing at the doorway to look back for an answer.

 _Breakfast?_ His mind quickly mulls over it, latching onto the less headache-inducing thought. He should still have some left over milk in the fridge. “I have milk already.”

“I threw that out. Spoiled milk isn’t healthy nor a breakfast meal. I went grocery shopping before coming over and bought plenty of ingredients. Anything?”

Immediately Naruto forgets about his problem with his memories.

“You threw my milk away?” Anger is easier for him to grasp. “That was supposed to last me two more days!”

Itachi shakes his head. “It was spoiled Naruto-kun—“

And as if to prove the Uchia’s point, Naruto coughs, hands covering his mouth as he scrambles over the edge of his bed and grabs the trash bin, throwing up the so called spoiled milk. His dry throat burns, and he spits one last time in the bin with a scowl.

“—And will make you sick,” Itachi finishes off. “Do you want some pills for your stomachache?”

“Headache,” Naruto corrects, “And none of the pills ever work for me. Not unless I down three bottles of any of them.” When he glances up at the other, he’s greeted to a blank-faced Uchiha.

“Naruto-kun. That isn’t healthy and very life—“

“The Medicnin at the hospital just gave me tons of it and said three bottles each time my head hurts. It hurts almost all the time.”

The two stare at each for a long tensed moment.

Naruto sees the Uchiha’s grip on the doorknob tighten and has to look away, already knowing what’s going on in the other’s head. The Medicnin was practically handing him his death sentence in hopes he’ll overdose and die. Unfortunately for her, thanks to the infinite chakra source sealed in him, he’s immune to most medication. Hell, he has yet to get sick.

“I see. I would like to meet this Medicnin later when you go to get more, or when we go to exchange your prescription because your current ones don’t seem to be doing its job.” Itachi says in an even voice that gives nothing away to what he truly feels, unlike his white-knuckled grip on the doorknob which does.

Something in Naruto churns, unwanted tears beginning to form in his eyes. _Damn it! My emotions are all over the place! Why do I keep crying? Why am I even crying?_

He knows why, and it’s because of that he feels the bubbly feeling he had when Iruka-sensei called him Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure—because someone here in the past doesn’t care about his Jinchuriki status—because there’s someone who isn’t a part of the mob outside his apartment trying to maim him, and it’s someone that cares.

And then he looks up at _Uchiha Itachi_ and the bubbly feeling explodes in fiery electricity that stings him. He feels sick and hopeless when the image of when he first met Itachi in his future’s memory overlaps with the one in front of him.

The figure donned in the Akatsuki’s black cloak dotted with red clouds looms over him, blocking his only escape, chilling his bones in some kind of instinctual fear that freezes him in place.

“ _You killed my little brother. You broke your promise and failed. Why would I ever care about you, you monster? Hokage?_ ” Sharigan eyes spin into Mangekyo Sharingan, twin pinwheels burning his body like the black flames it can wield. The Uchiha’s low monotone voice turns cold, “ _You’ll never be it! You couldn’t even save one friend, killed my little brother, and broke your promises! Tell me Uzumaki Naruto! Why do you still fight?!_ ”

Itachi slams him into the wall, hand clenched around his throat and leans forward to whisper into his ear. “ _You will never find peace. You will only hate, breed hate, and survive through hate. You’re worse than the villagers out there because unlike all of us, you’re the only one who doesn’t believe what you truly are and will ever be: a selfish monster who only takes from us. You, Naruto-kun, are worse than trash._ ”

Naruto feels the wall behind him swallowing him, shrouding him in a suffocating darkness too strong for him to break free from. He tumbles to the other side and is greeted to the sight of all of his precious people turning their backs on him. He scrambles up to stop them, but a sudden coldness wraps around him, and he can only watch the backs of his precious people getting further away.

“Stop! Come back! Please!” He pleads between desperate sobs. “Don’t leave me!”

As one, they all turn, and Naruto stills at the blank faces, the only noticeable features are the icy glares and sneers directed at him.

“ _ **I told you so**_ ,” his childish voice whispers in his ear.

A figure steps in front of him, the owner of the cold arms hanging off his shoulders blocking the view of his loved ones’ looming figures. Red eyes in the middle of a black abyss meet his sky blue orbs. Dark Naruto stares back at him in the form of his child self.

“ _ **But you didn’t listen back then. I tried to remind you this would happen, and look at us now. We’re back at square one again.**_ ” The little boy says sadly, gently wiping the tears off Naruto’s cheeks. “ _ **I told you so, and they’ve hurt us again, me—you—Naruto. Why do you keep fighting for them?**_ ”

“I…”

“ _ **They’ll keep hurting you. The past is hurting you, the future, and as well as the present. These bonds you have with them are hurting you. Sasuke betrayed us and now we’re suffering for taking care of him because we were the only one who could. We helped the village from losing one of its founding Clans and look what we get in return**_ ,” Dark Naruto waves a hand behind Naruto who looks over his shoulder.

The scene of when he first stepped onto the street after waking from his time under the Anbu Headquarter appears. Many of the villagers had frozen from what they were doing once they spotted his bright blonde hair.

Their sneers and scowls had been worse than he remembered, their words hitting him harder than before, but their eyes— _oh god their eyes_ —had sent a concoction of fear, dread, and pain through him, while the stones thrown at him stung beyond belief because he doesn't ever remember something like that happening the first time around.

In the crowd he can see pink hair standing out, Chibi-Sakura hiding behind a woman’s leg and staring at him as if he really was a monster, expression reflecting how frightened she was of him.

And he knows that that’s real because he had seen her, remembers her frightened expression as clear as when he killed Sasuke, and he’s sure she would have looked at him like that had she seen what he’d done to the love of her life.

“ _ **The future you lived in is no more. Your precious people are no more.**_ ” Naruto’s heart aches at the truthfulness in those words. “ _ **And Jiji betrayed us. This worsen hostility is the result of him telling the people what Obito did. He doesn’t care about us, that Kurama is sealed inside of you, and we’re the ones who will take the burn of all of the villagers’ hatred. You’ve fought for them for a whole lifetime already, why are you wasting this second chance for them? You were sacrificed for their sake, had to sacrifice even more for their sake as well. When will any of it ever truly be for your sake?**_ ”

“They’re my precious people,” is Naruto’s automatic response— _excuse_.

“ _ **And were you precious to them? Now?**_ ” Dark Naruto scowls, his words hitting home. “ _ **Had they cared they wouldn’t have let this happen to us. Our parents should have chosen us over the village, Ero-sennin shouldn’t have left us behind, and maybe hadn’t you been too busy chasing a futile hope of Sasuke ever returning to the village the pervert would’ve lived longer! Kaka-sensei never really cared for us, and if he did, it was because we reminded him of his old team and used us as his atonement! And Iruka-sensei…! He didn’t reach out to Sasuke back then! Didn’t help us earlier on and only did in spur of the moment! Where are those precious senseis and master of yours? Two of which who should have been here from the beginning! I’ve been here! I’m the only one who cares about you! I’m the one who looks underneath the underneath you always shove away!**_ ”

“You’re wrong!”

Dark Naruto clenches Naruto’s shoulders and brings him down so their faces are only an inch apart and staring straight into each other’s eyes. “ _ **I’m you! Have you forgotten? I was always you! Even when you told me to put my trust in you back at the Waterfall of Truth, I was you when I did! The only reason why I’m back is because you don’t trust yourself anymore! Your doubts of everyone and everything! They’re all the result of me standing before you again!**_ ”

“You’re lying!” Naruto scowls, and harshly shoves Dark Naruto away enough to stumble back and fall on his behind. “You’re just trying to tempt me into falling for your hatred!”

Dark Naruto’s face twists into disbelief and hurt. “ _ **I’m you god-damn-it, not just hatred!**_ ”

“I don’t care! I would never say those things about my parents or master and teachers!” Naruto shouts over his darker self, rising to his full height in his teenage body, glaring daggers at Dark Naruto who has the appearance of his child self. “I would not and will never betray any of my precious people no matter how many times I live or suffer!”

“ _ **What precious people?! We have nobody right now! Kurama is sealed away from us by the old man and those other bastards!**_ ” Dark Naruto snarls out, the anger and pain in his tone raw. His voice is hoarse when he confesses, “ _ **You’re all I have. And the only thing you’re giving me is the pain those so called precious people and bastards you’re fighting for are hurtling at you even when they don’t know or care about you now. I want it to stop, you want it to stop, but you won’t let me stop it! You won’t listen, and the pain in me is building up. Soon I’ll break and I’ll hurt you. I don’t want that!**_ ”

Naruto’s lips wobbles, tears cascading down his cheeks. He turns his head away from such a broken soul, or maybe because he doesn’t want to face the part of him that bleeds so he can continue on. He doesn’t know what to do. He’s an idiot and not really smart and his darker self is only adding more to his troubles.

“ _ **Don’t look away from me**_ ,” Dark Naruto begs, hands desperately trying to make Naruto face him, but he’s unsuccessful. Naruto steps away, and doesn’t stop, even when he turns and continues on despite the cry for him not to go.

Because he’s a shinobi from a shinobi family, and to be a shinobi means to endure.

“ _ **Stop! Come back! Please!**_ ” He pleads between desperate sobs. “ _ **Don’t leave me!**_ ”

Naruto freezes, his blood running cold as his words echo hauntingly in the darkness. He spins around—

"Naruto-kun? Have you come back to me?” Itachi pulls him back from his chest so they’re face to face. “You had a panic attack again.”

Naruto blinks at the Uchiha dazedly. It takes him a while to note he’s sitting on Itachi’s lap on his bedroom floor, the older boy’s arms cradling him with care. “I…” He chokes on his words, tears springing into his eyes. He leans his face into the other’s chest and sobs, too shaken from whatever the hell he just experienced to say anything else.

Itachi’s arms don’t leave him, and for some reason the thought of that makes him cry even more.

He doesn’t know how long they stay like that, but eventually Naruto pulls away to wipe his face on his own shirt.

“Itachi,” Naruto chokes out, ashamed of what he’s going to say, and desperate enough to find something—someone— _anything_ to ground himself. “I’m so sorry, so please don’t leave me. I need help. I—I don’t think I can—not anymore—not with Kurama unreachable— _please_. Promise me you won’t leave me.”

Dark Naruto scares him. Naruto is scared of himself. Bottling up all of this shit is only going to let it blow up in his face or blow him up entirely. Kurama is sealed off from him.

For once in this time he truly is alone.

And though he’s playing right into Jiji’s hand, Naruto doesn’t believe he’ll last long enough to start doing something at the rate he’s falling apart. Itachi is here, to stay whether both of them likes it or not, and Naruto will have to do with him.

“I’m not going anywhere Naruto-kun.” Itachi pulls him into another hug. “I’ll help to the best of my abilities.”

Naruto doesn’t sink into the hug, and he hopes he doesn’t come to regret what he says next. “You can’t tell anyone what I’m going to show you. It’s a—my Hell, and once I show you it, it will become your worst nightmare.”

“Show me what?”

Naruto sits up to face the Uchiha, and hopes he really won’t come to regret this. “My memories.” At the raised eyebrow he receives, Naruto adds, “You have the Sharingan. You can use it to see my memories. I’m letting you look because everybody else has their own problems right now—and right now I’m your problem.” Itachi’s eyes narrow, seemingly trying to pick him apart.

When the tension becomes unbearable Naruto blurts out, “I know the Uchihas were planning a coup and about Danzo and Root!”

Apparently that’s all it takes because the Uchiha’s eyes bleed into Sharingan and Naruto’s mind blanks, he doesn’t resist the intrusion or jutsu. He only hopes Kurama will let Itachi see his memories on the other side of the seal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** _The nightmares don't stop till he walks in._ Aka, PTSD is going to be a bitch for Naruto to overcome on his own and he just realized he can't do it alone, and tada! Uchiha Itachi appears. 
> 
> And I made it possible for Itachi to have the bullshit ability to see Naruto's memories with is Mangekyo Sharingan, which you'll be seeing next chapter, but I'll try to make the story as realistic as possible. 
> 
> If the story is too fast paced, I apologize, but the next few chapters are more of 'write as I go' chapters until I've come to ending I have envisioned for this story. 
> 
> I hope you continue reading, and enjoy it!


	10. Chapter Ten (Unedited)

Itachi eyes narrow down at his reflection. His sharingan stares back at him from the surface of the ankle-deep water.

He mentally scolds himself. Instinctively activating his eyes when the little boy had spoken something that nobody outside of the Uchihas or Hokage should have knowledge about is positively the most dangerous and stupidest Rookie Mistake he has ever done; at the same time committing treason because he's certain an Uchiha using their sharingan on the Kyuubi Jinchuriki is one of the quickest ways to break many official and unspoken laws.

Yet. He hesitates. He knows he could ( _will_ ) get in serious trouble for using his eyes early on with Naruto when he was explicitly ordered not to. He’s just lucky that his comrades are all outside of the apartment that’s riddled with privacy seals and unable to catch him in the act. The last thing he wants is to fan the flames of the village's mistrust towards his clan. But, Naruto knows about the Uchiha's pending coup and Danzo. If there's a slight possibility that an Uchiha has already gotten to the vessel...or Danzo is going behind the Hokage's back and trying to gain the power of the Kyuubi...

His stomach fills with dread. No. He can't. Anymore and he'll just make things worse.

Mind set, Itachi calls back the chakra in his eyes, only to freeze.

Faint echoes of a crying child bounce of the walls of the run-down sewer surrounding him. The corner of his lips curl downwards as the knots uncomfortably twist in his stomach, his conscious demanding he leave before he does anything more idiotic.

A drop of water hitting water rings through his mind like a gong and has him moving toward the source, eyes warily tracing the cracks in the walls and studying the pipes leaking with blue and red chakra that run along it. There's a lack of sense of direction in this place, so he's unsure how long he walks, blindly making his way through tunnels until he comes to a stop at an open area and is faced with a sealed gate.

If anyone ever asks why he hadn't turned back the moment he realized his mistake, he wouldn't be able to answer since he doesn't know the reason either.

Itachi doesn't need to be a genius to know he's staring at the seal containing the Kyuubi inside of its human container. A cold feeling fills his veins, fear sending goosebumps along his limbs and making his hair stand on edge. This isn't going to end well at all for him.

Then, he notices the small figure standing in front of the sealed gate.

 _Naruto._ Or Itachi would have thought that was the boy if not for the red irises and black sclera.

As if finally noticing another presence, Not-Naruto glares at him and hisses in voice that sounds a mixture of demonic and childish, “ _ **You’re his brother. The reason for his hatred and why he turned out the way he did. If Naruto really thinks having you as help is going to save him from his self than he’s wrong. Like how I was for trusting him.**_ ”

“Who are you?” Itachi ignores what he was just told, but stores it away to go over later. “You are not Uzumaki Naruto.”

The small child’s mouth twists into a painful sneer, “ _ **I am!**_ ” His voice trembles as he shouts, “ _ **I’ve always been Naruto! I’m the part of him he buries so he could continue smiling! Just like how everyone has their dark side, I’m his but not!**_ ”

Itachi honestly doesn’t know what to say to that. For all he knows it could be the Kyuubi trying to mess with him and he isn't going to fall for it.

The little boy’s face falls at the cold look he receives from the Uchiha.

A harsh growl snaps Itachi to attention, fear piercing him as his eyes shift upward and behind the small figure to stare at the imposing beast on the other side of the seal.

 _ **Uchiha Itachi**_ , the Kyuubi snarls, but its eyes are solely on Not-Naruto who looks like someone just stole all of the little boy's candy. _**Tell Naruto I’m here and that I’m not going anywhere.**_

Itachi is definitely _not_ going to tell his charge that, and the Kyuubi must have known because it glares at him.

_**If you want to see the Kit’s memories, tell the brat in front of you and the one in your arms that Kurama says he’s still here.** _

_This isn’t good._ The implications of the Bijuu’s words…mean they’re in deep shit. Kurama, Naruto had said he can’t reach Kurama—the Kyuubi. _Had Naruto-kun known about the Bijuu sealed inside him? Is there more than the Uchiha coup and Danzo the boy knows?_ He's inclined to believe so after Kyuubi's little tidbit.

“Where are Naruto-kun’s memories Kyuubi?” He asks and notes the way the small figure spins around and stares dumbly into space looking so much like a lost child. _Can he not see it?_

The Kyuubi— _Kurama?_ —bares his teeth in a threatening manner that does its job at frightening the Uchiha. _**If you’re talking about his memories from his future self then it’s sealed on this side with me.**_

 _Future? What?_ Itachi’s eyes narrow.

Kurama scoffs. _**How else would those pathetic humans have found out the identity of the Uchiha who controlled me and set me loose on the village? How else would we know about the Uchiha Coup? How else would we know that at the shrine in the Uchiha Compound under the last mat in the way back is an underground room with a stone bearing a message from the Sage of Sixth Path’s?**_

Those are things the Kyuubi shouldn’t know, considering the beast has been sealed away for three generations and the Uchihas would rather die than share the last two information with the rest of the village.

Again, he ignores his conscious. “Kurama says he’s here for you two even if you can’t reach him, he says he’s not going anywhere.” Itachi watches the way the younger boy’s shoulder sag in relief, which confuses him even more.

Not-Naruto turns away from him, his footsteps breaking the silence as the boy walks away and deeper into the sewer tunnels. Itachi would have felt bad, but reminds himself that that might not be Naruto.

 _ **You shouldn’t have done that to the Kit. Whether it’s him or the other on the surface, they’re both the same person. And you didn’t help your image by being harsh to the part of Naruto that’s bottled up along with other unwanted emotions or thoughts.**_ Kurama’s bored voice draws his attention. _**Well? Are you going to come and see his memories or not?**_

Itachi glares at the Kyuubi who huffs before moving back from the bars as if the Uchiha is actually going to step through it.

 _ **I hate Uchihas and their Sharigans**_ , Kurama growls out, _**but I won’t kill you Uchiha Itachi. You need to see his memories. Our other options are the Hatake brat who is likely unstable about the news of Obito. The Hokage, who will only lock Naruto up so news won’t spread of what we know, or call him insane. The senju woman and ero-sennin aren’t in the village. You’re the only option left, so either you come and see the brat’s memories or I forgo playing nice and shred all the chakra suppressing seals and kill you and all the bastards that need to die.**_

 _And how is_ that _supposed to encourage me to step into your den?_ Itachi dryly thinks. He studies the gate more, inwardly mulling over if he should or shouldn’t. He's leaning more to his second option.

“You said you and Naruto know the future, and also implied that you’re the reason the Uchihas have put their coup on hold. Then, tell me what would have happened to the Uchiha Clan if you hadn’t somehow warned the Hokage and Council of the threat lying in wait.” He wants to know what the Kyuubi would say, whether true or not, if there was a way to save his clan. _Are you going to tell me there was no coup? That the Hokage found the perfect solution to stopping it?_ He holds back a frown, mentally daring the Kyuubi to try to appease him with false information. He wouldn't put it past the beast to try and mess with his mind.

Except the Kyuubi doesn't.

_**You would have massacred your clan with the help of Obito. Your cousin Shisui would have been attacked by Danzo who stole one of his Mangekyo Sharingan the night he was supposed to use it on your father and Elders since there was no more time, and then left to kill himself in front of you so you could gain yours and do what needed to be done. You would have been ordered by Danzo soon after to kill all the members of your Clan, except you let one live—your little brother who was innocent, and threatened the old War Hawk with spreading the village secrets to the other shinobi villages should anything happen to your little brother while you became a Missing Nin and infiltrated the group Obito leads. Is that what you wanted to hear?** _

No. That isn't what he wanted to hear. Not even close. It hardly helps that his mind is able to perfectly picture such an outcome. If it weren't for information regarding the Kyuubi Attack surfacing recently, Itachi knows their only hope in stopping their clan from following through with coup was to use his cousin's sharingan. As for killing his clansmen...the safety of his innocent little brother is the first choice that surfaces to mind, added with his feelings on preventing a Civil War that could be the catalyst for the next Shinobi War... Itachi can vividly see that future.

A small part of his mind snaps at him, shouting at him to not fall for the Fox's tricks.

Kurama makes a gesture that looks similar to a smirk, but cruel in its nature. _**You let your little brother believe until the end that you killed your clan to measure your strength – let him feed off his hatred towards you so he could grow strong quickly – wanted him to end your pain and cleanse the Uchiha name. But, you didn’t take into account that he’d go as far as falling for Orochimaru’s bait to help him grow stronger by following him, that the little brat would find out the truth and turn on the village.**_

Itachi feels his entire being tremble. He wants the Kyuubi to shut up, to scream in denial because if what the beast says is true, then that means—

 _ **In my opinion, Naruto is suffering because of you Uchihas.**_ Kurama’s deep voice resonates deep inside the Uchiha. _**Naruto blames himself for what he did and didn’t do to your brother. If you really want to help him, keep him away from Sasuke in this time because when that moment comes, even I don’t think Naruto will ever recover from the breakdown that’ll follow. You’ll understand once you see his memories.**_

Itachi hesitates. The fear of the Kyuubi tricking him overpowering any curiosity and need to get answers. _Should I, or shouldn’t?_ It comes back to that question. In the end, he takes a hesitant step forward, slowly drawing closer to the sealed gates. When nothing happens once he’s a breath away from it, he steps pass the bars and into the lion’s ( _Demon’s_ ) den. He keeps his eyes trained on the beast—still on alert should he need to escape.

Kurama only huffs in annoyance before the Fox steps aside and allows him to walk past and deeper into the darkness.

Itachi tries not to show he’s afraid, frequently looking over his shoulder to glare at the beast sitting in its same spot.

He stops at the edge of complete darkness.

Itachi frowns at the multiple gleams on the ground ahead, his eyes narrowing when he spots some metal plates of headbands from all the Hidden Villages. Most worse for wear and some scratched. If that wasn’t strange enough, majority of the metal plates have the kanji ‘Shinobi’ engraved on it. And as he looks closer, the Uchiha can make out ripples in the ground coming from the objects. “What is this?”

He doesn't expect an answer, but then the faint voice of Kyuubi reaches his ears, _**That lake is made up of Naruto’s future memories. You need to go into it to see them.**_

The Uchiha studies the black depths littered with shinobi headbands with a blank look. Squaring his shoulders and sending one last intimidating glare over his shoulder to the Fox, Itachi steps forward into the lake of memories and sinks with each step.

For what feels like an eternity Itachi stays submerged reliving years-worth of memories.

Emotions that aren’t his, but feel too real to be an illusion shake his very being. Experiences of loneliness, anger, gain, pain, loss, hatred, love, and self-loathing sends ripples throughout his body.

He sees the ugliness side of humans, the wrongness in the world, the beauty in the light, the weight of bonds, the hurt of failure, the death of precious people, the will to exact revenge, the warmth of kinship, and the unbearable emotions chipping away his sanity.

Itachi feels it all, sees it all, and _he cries_. From the eyes of the closest thing his little brother had to a best friend, he watches the blonde and last of the Uchiha work together, break apart, call a temporary truce, and kill each other. He failed his brother, Naruto failed them, and Sasuke was a failure. They’re all at fault, and yet he blames himself. Or is it the blonde’s own feelings? He doesn't know.

When he emerges from the suffocating depths, Itachi has to _drag_ himself out. He wants to get away. Those aren’t illusions, dreams, memories – they’re _nightmares_. Nightmares that came to be, and _can come to be again_.

He kills for his village and little brother's, but all his plans are for not. Naruto kills Sasuke in the end, and the Uchihas are nothing more than a name written in the history books. He feels empty as his whole world shifts and turns upside down. Even the budding sickness in him is slowly blooming and stealing his ability to breathe.

Suddenly, what Naruto meant back at the Anbu Holding Quarters makes so, so much more sense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** This chapter was difficult to write because I couldn't decide how to write from Itachi's point of view. If he's out of character, I'm sorry. Hopefully it's at least interesting for you guys!


	11. Chapter Eleven (Unedited)

Slowly, Itachi lets himself stop the jutsu, his eyes stinging painfully.

He meets those deceptively deep blues and finally sees the whole picture that has caused the village and his Clan to turn a sharp one-eighty. He sees the Hero of the village, the savior of the whole world, and the failure of a Loser.

This isn't what Itachi was assigned to handle. It's too much. In his arms is his little brother's murderer from the future. And for the first time, Itachi fears the boy, not because of what he holds, but because of what he might do. Future or not, he knows what he saw were the blonde's memories, and he saw Naruto kill Sasuke.

Yet he can’t find it in himself to hate the boy who has lost so much more and has given Itachi a chance to not lose anything.

Naruto is staring at him with wide eyes, mouth hanging open in shock. “Your…your eyes,” the blonde stutters in disbelief.

It takes a moment for the words to register, and when they do, Itachi closes his eyes the same moment he pulls out a kunai. _No. Please. No._ If its there than he can't deny what he just saw. Still. He opens them and stares at his reflection, meeting familiar pinwheel patterns in each of his eyes. It shouldn't be possible. Time travel shouldn't be possible. Itachi closes his eyes, feeling the tears streaming down his cheeks as he holds back a sob. He didn't just see Naruto's memories, he lived through it, and the emotions are still fresh in him.

“The Mangekyo Sharingan,” Itachi exhales shakily. _Damnit._

After a long moment to find the strength to rip his newly transformed eyes from his reflection, the Uchiha forces himself to put away his weapon and regain any composure he can muster.

“I’m sorry,” the blonde blurts out of nowhere.

A pause, then, “As am I, Uzumaki Naruto,” Itachi replies. He can’t say anything else without insulting the boy’s pride and hard work.

He feels the little boy’s fists clench on the front of his shirt, hands trembling. “My head hurts. I keep forgetting important stuff and mixing it with dreams. I—I’m losing my mind and inside—you said that it would be arrogant of me if I did everything by myself. Kurama is sealed away from me—it’s hard to hear him. I— _Will you help me?_ ”

Itachi saw the moment he told the blonde that; had thought his older self who had been through Hell wiser than his current self and also a horrible older brother. He doesn’t know the right answer for the boy. He thinks they should inform the Sandaime, to tell somebody more reliable and experienced than a thirteen year old genius.

But, he saw Naruto’s mind.

Time travel or not, once any of the Higher Echelons or the Public hear of the reason why Naruto is emotionally (and mentally) unstable, he doesn't doubt they would lock up the boy. The catastrophe that'll follow to what lies ahead in the future for both his Clan and Konoha will only shred the shaky alliance currently holding the village and its people together.

Naruto is also his little brother’s age, once upon a future’s closest thing to a brother to Sasuke, and a child who experienced hardships from the day he was born.

Now Itachi knows that little kid he saw in the blonde’s mind in front of the Kyuubi’s seal is Naruto. It’s Naruto - the child one - who was assaulted by memories of his future self. Dark Naruto - older Naruto calls him. Or at least, who the boy is now. The child was forced to bare the weight of a lifetime he has yet to experience which only added to what he’s living through now, shoving all the pain and unbearable emotions back so the Mask he wears won’t shatter.

The child, the one in Itachi’s time - in now - is falling into the darkness growing inside of him and turning into Dark Naruto.

The older Naruto keeps telling Dark Naruto things Dark Naruto doesn’t want to hear. Dark Naruto just wants someone to stop and listen to him, to find someone who will help him for once. Older Naruto thinks otherwise, thinks it’s his duty to endure through this and needs to save everyone from the future. He’s right, they both are, and yet.

Dark Naruto is being pushed aside, ignored to suffer, while older Naruto tries to convince himself to continue forward and do something so he’s distracted by his thoughts and emotions.

Itachi doesn’t know how to save Naruto from himself, not like this. Not when there are two completely different people in one mind fighting each other - worse, one is a child and the other is a teenager. And he has already fucked up by rejecting the child one.

Split-personality is the closest thing he can call the blonde’s condition at the moment; and the problems of the mind usually lean toward a Yamanaka’s expertise.

He feels like he can’t choose a side. If he chooses older Naruto’s side, Dark Naruto will no doubt break; if he chooses Dark Naruto’s side, older Naruto will clam up and assume that he’s unworthy to help change the future.

The problem with what the blonde in his arms just asked is that he doesn’t know which Naruto is asking him for help. Is it Dark Naruto or the older Naruto? Or is it both of them?

“I’ll help Naruto-kun,” Itachi settles with saying.

Naruto leans his head against the Uchiha’s chest. The younger boy’s body relaxes in his arms. “Thank you,” the blonde whispers, “Itachi.”

For a moment Itachi thinks he heard an echo of a child and young man’s voice speak before he shakes his head.

Maybe it may be too much for him and Naruto to shoulder what they know, but the blonde put his trust in Itachi even if he believed him to turn his back on him after seeing Naruto kill his brother. Maybe he might, later down the road after he's cleared his mind and can differentiate between his feelings and the blonde's. Right now he can only feel Naruto and maybe that's why he doesn't go straight to the Hokage and spill the beans. Doing so might speed up the Uchiha Massacre, or spark the next Shinobi War, or worse, kill Sasuke.

Itachi can’t say it isn’t real because it hasn’t happened yet. Naruto’s memories _are_ real, and the proof that the boy indeed did kill his little brother is the Mangekyo Sharingan simmering underneath his onyx eyes.

He answers back just as softly, “It’s why I’m here for anyways right?”

It may be his mission to gain the Jinchuriki’s trust - to nurture and teach this child - to form a strong bond with his Godbrother, but the situation goes deeper than any of that now.

What Naruto needs isn’t a shinobi, nor a teacher, or a Godbrother; what he needs is a comrade to trust, someone to confide to who’ll listen and help shoulder the burden he forced upon himself when it becomes too much for him.

They remain that way a couple minutes more until Naruto’s stomach grumbles, reminding them that they have yet to eat breakfast.

Itachi doesn’t need to look down to know Naruto is blushing from embarrassment.

“It’s the spoiled milk," Naruto defensively retorts.

Itachi hums in reply. He doesn’t stop the blonde when he pulls away to stand. He stands up too, eyes studying the boy who avoids staring at him.

“You won’t…tell anybody right?” Naruto asks carefully, his body tense.

“I won’t. You have my word,” Itachi answers truthfully. He’s seen Naruto’s mind. Knows what the boy is planning. When the time comes for Naruto to leave the village, he’ll deal with that then, but now he’ll do all he can to prepare the boy for the hardships ahead of them.

The least he can do is give Naruto the training he never really had, the knowledge he lacked for most experiences, and when Itachi deems Naruto as a full-fledged shinobi, then he’ll let Naruto go, perhaps go with him, or stop him as a loyal shinobi to his village as he should.

Thinking about his decision now wouldn't do. Not when before this his loyalty was already torn between Konoha and the Uchiha. Now he's even more split between his duty and his want to help Naruto all the way until the end, even if it means following the younger boy when he leaves the village. But, he knows his clan will take the burn of his actions, blamed for one of their own (again) manipulating the Kyuubi (Jinchuriki).

Not going or going will hurt him anyways because no matter which he chooses, he’ll be abandoning the one he didn’t choose.

He has now till then to make his decision, but he has a feeling he already knows his answer.

Naruto nods, eyes flickering up to peer at his face before the blonde dashes to the restroom.

Itachi forces himself to move to the kitchen to make their breakfast, briefly glancing behind the curtain covering the apartment window to make sure no one saw what he did, and sighing with relief when they hadn't.

He takes one look at the cabinets filled with cups of instant ramen and the bags of food on the table before grabbing a trash bag and throwing all of the ramen inside it. Naruto hadn’t touched his precious ramen since he received his future memories. That one bad memory accompanying it overruling all the good ones and turning his love for ramen into a bittersweet meal that was oh-so-delicious that once healed him but now breaks his heart.

Itachi wonders if his mom wouldn’t mind to have a couple bags of instant ramen. It’s not healthy like the food she usually cooks, but like Naruto - the meal is bittersweet for her. Ramen had always and forever will remind her of Uzumaki Kushina who loved the meal. But, unlike Naruto, the heart ache has dulled with time, if only a little, for her to enjoy the meal.

Once he’s done clearing the cabinets, he begins putting the food he bought away. He leaves the carton of eggs out, a gallon of orange juice and some bread.

A light breakfast should be appropriate to start off their day and ease them into their new living arrangements.

Today he planned on refreshing what Naruto learned at the Academy the past year, but that has been promptly thrown out the window. First he’ll have to ease the boy to his presence now intruding into the safety of his home before into his studies. The Hokage had given him permission to bond with Naruto, and if they’re careful of what they say out in the open, they’ll be free to get some fresh air and away from some of the main sources weighing down the boy.

Even though Itachi knows Naruto is still a child, still grieving and suffering, he’ll have to put the boy on the spot once in a while to face his demons and overcome them. He knows an encounter with Sasuke and any other of his precious people is a no. So he’ll use an indirect approach and hope it doesn’t turn out like how Naruto views his favorite food.

The sound of the toilet flushing catches his attention and a minute later Naruto joins him in the kitchen. The boy’s eyes instantly locks on the black trash bags near the front door. Thankfully, he doesn’t question it and instead asks, “What are you making?” He probably knows anyways.

“Scrambled eggs and some toast,” Itachi answers. “It’s light since today we’ll be going out to stretch your body and get fresh air.” He plans on taking him through the training fields, maybe even Team Seven’s own if the others don't trigger a panic attack.

“Out?” Naruto sounds scared, his voice shaking. “You mean out there? Where the villagers are?”

Itachi pauses in his work to meet fearful blue orbs, “No. We’re going to stroll in the less populated areas. I was thinking the forests and any empty training grounds.” At the sudden sick expression the blonde takes on, Itachi adds in a slightly harder tone, “Naruto-kun, not all of your memories are horrible. They stand out in your memory because they’re fewer than the good, but too heartbreaking to just forget. I want you to think of the good memories Naruto-kun, and yes they may still hurt, but they’re just as important as the ones needed to change the future you remember.”

Naruto casts his eyes downwards, face displaying his displeasure still.

Itachi lets his voice become softer when he speaks again, “The reason why you even wish to change the future is because of the good memories. Because you had precious people, a sign and hope that you can have some this time again, and because you were happy, right? You’re hurting, and will be hurting for a long time maybe, but you won’t heal if you ignore the pain, it’ll only get worse. You don’t have to face your problems all at once, little by little is fine. I’ll be there every step of the way, so when you feel you need a shoulder to lean on, use mine.”

Naruto’s eyes close, mouth taking a deep breath and exhaling through his nose. His face is still pale, but Itachi thinks it’s because he’d been mostly cooped up in his apartment these past months. When Naruto’s eyes open, however, Itachi has to blink in surprise, something he didn’t know was missing until it showed - the determination slowly burning in those blue eyes the color of the all-encompassing sky - truly surprising him as much as the memories of the future.

 _Oh_ , he thinks.

In the boy’s memories, he was looking through Naruto’s eyes and hadn’t seen much of the boy’s expression, only felt it, but now he can. Even if Naruto is still a child, the raw determination beginning to simmer in the blonde’s eyes sends shivers of what exactly - he doesn’t know, just that he sees potential in the child in front of him, can see how great Naruto could - no, _will_ \- be one day.

The phantom feelings he felt in the younger boy’s memory slither underneath his skin, leaving goose bumps in their wake as the memories spark some indescribable desire inside him.

For one fleeting second, Naruto doesn’t look broken, doesn’t look like he’s having a war with himself and instead looks whole.

 _No, it wasn’t just the determination missing_ , Itachi belatedly realizes.

He feels stupid at how he hadn’t noticed yet, that ever since Naruto received his future memories, the boy had in some way given up and went with the flow as if it was his only purpose, like strings were attached to him and he was nothing more of a puppet dancing to the pull and push of his feelings.

Itachi remembers the feeling of something shattering inside of the boy when Naruto’s hand went through Sasuke’s chest in his future memories. It was that moment everything Naruto worked for came crumbling down. His Nindo, his promises and determination that made him who he was - that even though he knew they’d die if they fought, he hadn’t wanted it to happen, but was resigned to it because it had to be him to do what needed to be done who fully understood Sasuke - destroyed with that one move.

They were supposed to die and be able to move on to the Pure World, no longer tied by the title of Jinchuriki and last Uchiha. Except that didn't happen. Instead Naruto woke up with memories of the future and Sasuke hadn’t.

The unfairness in the situation weighs heavily on the Jinchuriki because even if none of that happened - it did. And there’s no last Uchiha, but a whole clan of them in this time.

Naruto may bear hope from that future, but it’s dim in the face of what trouble lies ahead of him. He’s still a child, both mentally and physically, and a small part of him hopes that that isn’t his future; even if he got precious people out of it he doesn’t want them if that’s the price for them.

Dark Naruto doubts older Naruto and Itachi, and Itachi wonders how he could have missed something so obvious when he knew they messed up. He’d seen older Naruto’s side of things and had speculated the rest and put it together, easily making assumptions without listening to both sides of their story.

Itachi is going to have to tread carefully now with how he reads and understand Naruto because thinking the boy as a whole right now isn’t right, even if he is since both minds are Naruto. But they’re _not_ the same.

He’d only breached the side of older Naruto’s point of view, but not Dark Naruto’s. Dark Naruto bottles everything up, trying to retain his Mask of obliviousness - the only thing older Naruto is helping with - and has yet to share anything with Itachi.

There's jealousy, anger, and a variety of bitter feelings towards his future memories, perhaps toward his older self and his precious people too - a child’s point of view of the world and things are never as simple as they appear. Their mentality and psychology are more complex than a mature adult’s own, their simplicity obscuring the depth of their emotions and thoughts that even they don’t know sometimes and may never truly will.

 _What if Dark Naruto doesn’t want what older Naruto wants?_ Itachi inwardly blanches at the thought. That would be a roadblock hard to overcome, probably the hardest one aside from encountering Sasuke. It’s like a game of tug-of-war, and either end will lead to Naruto’s downfall. _This is bad. I should really speak to a Yamanaka about Naruto’s psychological problem before his mental health declines drastically._ Except… He gave his word that he wouldn't tell anybody about what he knows without Naruto’s permission, and he knows Naruto wouldn’t want him to.

Itachi’s gut instincts are telling him that the only way to save Naruto from falling apart is to spark what died out along with Sasuke. He’s figured out his mission in helping the blonde, the one problem Dark Naruto and older Naruto kind of agree they have in common and want - _need_ resolved in order to survive their past, present, and future.

As he drowns in those intoxicating blue depths, Itachi vows to reach the deepest parts locked away and cleanse it. Older Naruto may have let him in a little, but Dark Naruto is the one who said they both need help, the hidden meaning behind his words just screaming he’s the reason they’ll fail if he isn’t saved. Itachi knows now - _understands_. If reaching out to Dark Naruto is through that tiny spark in their eyes, then it’s a start.

Mission: _**Rekindle The Will of Fire _ ****_**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


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